It was my worst nightmare: My beloved 13-year-old English bulldog, Ellie, collapsed one morning after our regular walk. She did her business as usual, but on our way back, she stopped at the welcome mat and fainted. It took what seemed like an eternity for her to come out of a daze.
When she did regain consciousness, she was wheezing and having difficulty breathing. That's when I instinctively flew into life-saving mode.
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Although I had no idea how to perform cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a dog, I had seen it performed on humans and so I began pressing her chest, slapping her face and even giving her mouth to mouth the best I could. Then I put her in the car and raced to the vet where they immediately gave her oxygen and an IV. The next day my vet told me that my actions had "saved her bacon."
Since then, Ellie's been diagnosed with a disease that can sometimes make her heart stop beating. So I vowed to learn the correct way to perform CPR on a dog, just in case this happens again. Here's what I found out from several experts on the subject.
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