[Bishop's Fantasy?]
This is MY story and I'm sticking to it!Really??
2007-07-25
I have pets and I love them dearly. I think it has something to do with taking care of their every need and spending time with them. I notice and enjoy their quirky habits. My cats both lay on me as though I'm their personal chaise lounge. If I had 4 cats instead of 2, I'd never need a blanket on my bed! As I said, I love them and appreciate snuggling up with them when it's cold, but for some reason, I find the following story a little bit bizarre. Perhaps it has to do with the mental picture of a dog walker and security guard trying to perform the Heimlich Maneuver (and possible CPR) on a dog. It could be the fact that Oprah pays someone else to walk her dogs. Why have a dog if you don't have time to properly care for it? I think it might just be the idea that she claims to have learned some deep philosophical lesson from the death of her dog. Why can't it just be something that happened in her life that just sucked eggs instead of having to point to a deeper truth about life, the universe, and everything? I'm sure she was right that her dog lived every minute like it was her last, but don't all animals pretty much do that?
Oprah reflects on death of her dog:
Oprah Winfrey is mourning the death of her 2-year-old golden retriever, Gracie.
"Weeks have passed," Winfrey says in the August issue of O, the Oprah Magazine. "And the pain has not subsided. Every time I think about it, my heart starts racing and I feel like I just got stabbed in the chest."
On May 26, Gracie choked to death on a plastic ball that belonged to Sophie, Winfrey's 12-year-old cocker spaniel, while out with her dog walker and two other golden retrievers, Winfrey says.
"I ran barefoot out of the house and found the dog walker and one of my security guys pumping her chest," Winfrey, 53, recalls. "Just as I reached them, the security guy looked up and said, `I'm sorry, ma'am. We tried everything. I'm sorry. She's gone.'"
Winfrey — who "stood there dazed, stunned, crying" as Gracie was placed in a golf cart — says she learned this lesson: Enjoy life but remember to slow down, too.
"She never stopped moving. Was energy in motion. ... I have never seen a being, human or animal, always so full of joy," Winfrey says of Gracie, who ran amok and gulped food and treats. "This dog lived every moment as though it were her last."
Winfrey says she "got the message" to slow down and catch her breath when Gracie died.
"I don't believe in accidents," says the host of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "I know for sure that everything in life happens to help us live."
How to properly administer the heimlich maneuver on a dog:
After determining that your pet is choking, remove any item that may be constricting the neck. Examine inside the mouth and remove any foreign object you see. Do not blindly place your hand down your pet's throat and pull any object you feel. Dogs have small bones that support the base of their tongues. Owners probing the throat for a foreign object have mistaken these for chicken bones. Do not attempt to remove an object unless you can see and identify it.
If your pet is small and you cannot easily remove the object, lift and suspend him with the head pointed down. For larger animals, lift the rear legs so the head is tilted down. This can help dislodge an item stuck in the throat.
Another method is to administer a sharp blow with the palm of your hand between the shoulder blades. This can sometimes dislodge an object. If this does not work, a modified Heimlich maneuver can be attempted.
- Grasp the animal around the waist so that the rear is nearest to you, similar to a bear hug.
Place a fist just behind the ribs. - Compress the abdomen several times (usually 3-5 times) with quick pushes.
- Check the mouth to see if the foreign object has been removed.
- This maneuver can be repeated one to two times but if not successful on the first attempt, make arrangements to immediately take your pet to the nearest veterinary hospital.
Even if you are successful in removing a foreign object, veterinary examination is recommended. Internal injury could have occurred that you may not realize.
Froggie (2007-07-25)
I've heard of mouth to snout before, but haven't tried it. Thanks to Ms. Jensen (err- I mean Ken) that won't be my 1st choice of revival options for my little Sam :P
Delete (2007-07-25)
That's some great information....I also recommend putting a couple of fingers in their butt hole; if that doesn't shock them well at least you can say you tried :D
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