In fear of getting stuck, Hobbes went into panick mode and started flipping and twisting to try and free himself. What he didn't realize, was that he was not only making it MORE twisted, but he was, in turn, choking his best friend.
I reached my hand in to try and pull the collar loose, and somehow got bitten by one of them. The bite was totally out of fear and pain from whichever dog it was, and it was not on purpose. I yelled for Karla to come help and she flew back in a matter of seconds. Each of us took a dog (Boo weighing in at about 100lbs and Hobbes around 70) Karla and I took turns trying to get Hobbes free from Boo's collar, but it was SO tight and so slobbery that our hands kept slipping. We couldn't cut the collar because it was so tight around Boo's neck, AND it was thick leather. I started noticing that Boo was becoming more and more limp in my arms and I was planning for the worst. I knew that for the past 20 seconds, Boo had not been able to breathe at all. I kept begging "Please Boo don't leave me. Stay with me Boo"
Finally, Karla yelled "THE COLLAR IS TWISTED!" and was able to manouver Hobbes in a way that the entire collar was loosened. Hobbes's mouth was full of blood from the collar and from his teeth trying to get it free himself. As soon as he was loose, he backed away (tail wagging, of course) and stood and watched as his best friend lay there motionless. Meanwhile, all of the other dogs in the daycare facility were dead silent. They all stood or sat around us (with a good distance away) and just watched.
Karla pulled the collar off of Boo's neck and he fell right out of my arms and onto the floor. Motionless. Not breathing. Eyes bugging out. He even released his feces and urine. At that point, I thought we lost him. I leaned down and listened for a heartbeat and was overwhelemed with relief that Boo had a very faint, uneven, but existing heartbeat. I screamed "HE'S ALIVE! CPR! CPR!"
**Earlier this year, Myself, Karla, and our trainer Sarah had all been Pet First Aid certified through the American Red Cross where we were taught Dog CPR. At this point, that class had paid for itself.
Karla leaned down and grabbed his snout. With dog CPR, you close their mouth and blow into their nostrils. (Opposite of CPR for a human.) As she blew, I held my hands gently on his ribcage so that I could feel the air blowing into his lungs. The first 2 or 3 times she blew, I felt nothing. She stopped blowing and I proceeded to push 1, 2, 3, 4, onto his chest. Then she began to blow again. Still nothing. I reached into his mouth and pulled out his tongue to make sure he wasn't choking on that too.
I pumped on his ribs one more time and she blew into his nose afterwards. Finally, Boo took in a deep raspy, cough-like breath. A huge sigh of relief fell over both of us. Just to make sure he continued to breathe, we repeated the CPR one more time. I held his head up and snapped my fingers in front of his eyes to make sure he was responsive. What did Boo do? He licked my face.
Immediately, Hobbes, and a couple of the other dogs slowly walked over to Boo with worry in their eyes. They began licking him and cleaning him very gently. Karla got up to get a mop to clean up his mess, and Boo actually got up and followed her. He was very wobbly, but walking nonetheless. Still, none of the dogs made a peep.
I have never been so scared in my life. The adrenaline that you experience during a crisis like that is beyond what words can describe. I had totally forgotten about my hand until I looked down to see it covered in blood. (I was fine. I was just a puncture wound to the palm). We called both dogs' parents and Boo's mom came right away to take him to the vet to make sure there was no permanent brain or throat damage. She was grateful that we saved her baby "Boo Bear" and hugged us both as they drove off.
The irony in all of this? Boo is by far the naughtiest boy here! He has always been our biggest trouble maker and we always joke about how "Boo did it." He has eaten numerous water bottles, toys, couch cushions, sheets, books, magazines, toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls...the list goes on and on. If Boo can reach it, he will destroy it. (Let's face it...he's a Labrador!) And the moment that Boo became concious again and leaned up and licked my face....there are no words to describe the joy I felt. I grabbed him by the face and I said "Boo, you pain in the ass! I've never been SO happy for you to be alive!"
I'm happy to report that both Boo and Hobbes are doing great. Boo, in fact, is coming back to daycare today! Just 1 day off at home, and he's ready to come back! Only a dog...
Hobbes is also coming back today, and I know that they will be happy to see eachother. We are now going to recommend that owners bring their dogs on a snap (or quick-release) collar. That way, if that ever happens again, we can just snap it open!
Karla and I were thankful that we decided to take that course. I am thankful that she didn't go home right away as planned (there is NO way I could have saved Boo and Hobbes myself!) And we're all thankful that Boo and Hobbes are happy and well!
Needless to say, Karla's headache went away!
