Dog Saves Woman’s Life With Heimlich Maneuver
Posted March 28, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
How smart is your dog?
However clever your four legged friend may be, your pet likely can’t hold a candle to a two-year-old golden retriever named Toby.
He lives with a woman named Debbie Parkhurt in the small town of Vert, Maryland. And what he did last week simply defies explanation.
The 45-year-old owner was alone in her home eating an Apple on Friday when a piece of the fruit got lodged in her throat. She began to choke and tried to perform the Heimlich maneuver on herself.
It didn’t work.
She then began beating on her chest in an attempt to dislodge the obstruction, but that failed, too.
The jewelry designer was in danger of choking to death and didn’t know how she’d get help in time.
That’s when her ‘wunderdog’ went to work.
Toby suddenly came up to Parkhurst, got up on his hind legs, put his paws on her shoulders, pushed her to the ground and began jumping up and down on her chest.
Incredibly, his efforts succeeded and the apple bit came out of the relieved woman’s mouth, allowing her to breathe again.
Most people aren’t trained in the Heimlich procedure, let alone dogs, and Parkhurst has no idea how her furry companion knew what to do.
“I literally have pawprint-shaped bruises on my chest,” she told her local paper. “I’m still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m OK.
“The doctor said I probably wouldn’t be here without Toby. I keep looking at him and saying ‘You’re amazing.'”
After his effort was over, Toby kept kissing his owner to make sure she didn’t fall back into an unconscious state, allowing her to get up and call for help.
It seems this pet went from Heimlich to dog lick. And it’s one trick his amazed owner hopes he never has to repeat.
The story has spread like wildfire in the community, with many suggesting the dog couldn’t possibly have known what it was doing.
But you’ll never convince Parkhurst of that.
“I was in that house I know what happened,” she contends. “I saw him and that’s all that matters. I’m here.”
And oh yeah – Toby wound up eating that fruit that caused the entire mess in the first place. “Yes, he ate the apple,” she laughs. “I know it’s disgusting but everybody’s been asking that.”
And there’s one more incredible coda to this already amazing story. It turns out Toby may have just been returning the favour.
The animal was found abandoned two years ago going through a dumpster and taken to a local animal shelter. Parkhurst adopted him a short time later.
“Nobody wanted him,” she beams looking at his constantly wagging tail. “And now look.”
