Chris Thompson never expected to have to use lifesaving measures to resuscitate her swimming extraordinaire pup. Thankfully she was prepared when a leisurely afternoon on the lake quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal. Jade, a 17 year old mixed cow dog and spaniel, is normally at home in the water. Nicknamed “fish herder”, Jade swims with the agility of a puppy. He didn’t even start to wear a lifejacket until he turned 13, and only then as a precaution. Swimming is Jade’s therapy for his aging body. He takes a dip at least once a day in the local lake, which helps ease his aging muscles.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about his 4th of July swim. After swimming for about an hour, owner Chris pulled Jade out of the water, took off his life jacket, and laid him down for his routine nap in the boat. When Chris left the boat and stepped onto the dock for a moment, Jade tried to jump off to follow.
Instead of landing safely on the dock, Jade lost footing and fell into the water. Slipping under the pontoon boat, which was next to the dock, Jade was unable to find the surface. Chris jumped in to retrieve Jade but could not find him. She searched and searched and was finally able to pull what she felt was fur to the dock. Jade wasn’t breathing. As a veteran Red Cross volunteer, Chris sprang into action. She picked Jade up with his back end higher than his head and administered First Aid. Jade coughed up water and began to breath again. Chris recounts several lessons she learned from this nightmare scenario.
“Just like a child, even if they are not intending to swim, pets should have his life jacket on,” says Chris. She also adds, “You actually can revive a dog if you react quickly enough. You just have to resuscitate him”
Chris knew you could resuscitate animals using the mouth to stout CPR technique but Jade’s primary issue was getting the water out of his lungs. He was only under the water for 20-30 seconds. Having volunteered for the Red Cross while she lived in Dallas, TX, Chris has been trained in Red Cross First Aid and CPR. She also knew specifics of pet First Aid and CPR and had taken Red Cross water safety classes. Jade’s has since put his scary 4th of July experience behind him. After receiving a snack and taking a rest, he was back in the water swimming within hours. He continues to swim in the water at least once a day. He is trained to swim to the dock latter and touch it with his nose when he is ready to get out.
Chris Thompson lives in Boydton, VA. She uses the Twitter account name – RedCrossmom- which has been her nickname for 10 years. She became a member of the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team on September 10, 2001 and the next day was deployed to help with Red Cross efforts at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport during the 9/11 attacks. She created her own non-profit, humanityroad.cdmail.biz, and still uses Red Cross materials. She can be contacted at redcrossmom@humanityroad.cdmail.biz.
The American Red Cross offers Dog First Aid classes and materials for purchase. Visit www.RedCross.org to contact your local chapter. The preceding is part 1 in a series of “Red Cross Dog Days of Summer Campaign” stories promoting pet first aid. During the month of August, the American Red Cross is urging you to take the necessary steps to know how to protect your pets and save their lives in the event of emergency. The preceding is part 1 in a series of “Red Cross Dog Days of Summer Campaign” stories promoting pet first aid. During the month of August, the American Red Cross is urging you to take the necessary steps to know how to protect your pets and save their lives in the event of emergency.
The preceding is part 1 in a series of “Red Cross Dog Days of Summer Campaign” stories promoting pet first aid. During the month of August, the American Red Cross is urging you to take the necessary steps to know how to protect your pets and save their lives in the event of emergency.
Find a class near you -American Red Cross Animal First Aid http://rdcrss.org/MvE8tY