Two people rushed into the police station in North Reading, Massachusetts, on March 3 seemingly in a panic.
The police station video camera captured the scene where the two people, a woman and a man, holding on to a limp puppy came in asking for help.
The woman, Megan Vitale, was seen rushing in while holding her 9-week-old Saint Bernard puppy, Bodhi. She said Bodhi had been eating when it choked on its food.
When the police officer came out to see what was going on, he noticed that the puppy wasn’t breathing, according to the police report.
Vitale’s friend was trying to dislodge the piece of food stopping the puppy from breathing, but unsuccessfully. Then, other police officers along with fire department officials who were also at the police station tried to helped save the limp puppy.
North Reading First Responders Save Choking Puppyhttp://nrpd.org/2018/03/05/north-reading-first-responders-save-choking-puppy/
According to WCVB, the owner had only had Bodhi for a day before she went to feed it, which is when the puppy choked on the food.
The swarm of officers tried different ways to dislodge the food item, such as back blows and chest compressions. After almost 10 minutes, the food item was finally dislodged and the puppy regained consciousness again.
Throughout the whole process, Vitale was pacing around the police station, panicking and distraught, worried for her puppy. Her friend who came in with her to the police station stood beside her, trying to calm her down.
Many have already seen this, but we want to acknowledge the police officers and firefighters involved in saving this…
Another angle of the scene could be seen from another camera inside the police station.
According to a statement by the police, it was a “10-minute emergency medical effort that was captured on video in the lobby of the police station” where the officers of both departments were able to save the life of a chocking puppy.
Officers Jorge Hernandez, Peter DiPetro, and Joseph Aleo were able to act fast and save the puppy. They received praised from the chief of both departments.
The firefighters were able to use a special oxygen mask on the puppy and administer oxygen once the puppy regained consciousness. The oxygen administration turned out to be a little difficult because the puppy kept moving its head.
After the puppy was resuscitated, the owners took Bodhi to a veterinarian for a check-up to make sure that no other damage or injury had been caused by the incident.
North Reading First Responders Save Choking Puppy https://t.co/REcaOBDwI1 pic.twitter.com/QVNjBrdQoP
— North Reading Police (@NorthReadingPD) March 5, 2018
“Ultimately, a life was saved thanks to the rescuers falling back on their training and remaining calm. Even though we are not faced with this kind of incident every day, the officers reacted just as they would in any emergency situation,” Police Chief Michael P. Murphy said. “We are hopeful that the puppy will make a full recovery.”
It has since been reported that the Saint Bernard puppy managed to recover from the choking scare.
The chief also said that over the past few years, the police officers had been trained on how to respond to emergencies involving pets. The departments had decided that it was important for the officers to be able to assist with any emergency because they were never sure what kind of problems would come through their doors.
“Many of our firefighters have pets at home in their own families,” Fire Chief Don Stats said. “We do not get to choose their emergency situation that comes our way, so it is important that first responders be prepared for anything.”
