Zoie Almost Died

 

We almost lost Zoie at 6 am. She took her breakfast biscuit and darted under the bush. That's normal. I heard weird noises a few moments later. Then she emerged, mouth wide open and struggling to swallow. She staggered as she ran under the bush again. 

I dropped everything and tried to part branches enough to see her. I ran inside and turned the large deck light on. No noise upon my return. Fuck light. I plunged into the bottom of the bush and found her. I dragged her limp body onto the concrete. She wasn't breathing though she still had a pulse. I sat in the rain and mud and worked to clear her airway. I called her name and pleaded with her to not die. I breathed into her mouth and snout and then...then she took a breath on her own. Whew. 

I'm soaked from rain and I don't care. I haven't been this keyed up since rescuing Piper from the same horror. I held Zoie tight to my chest and cried. I knew things would be alright the moment she wagged her tail.

The moral of this story: give Zoie pieces of her biscuit or bones so she can stay on the porch to chew before swallowing.

Pupdate:

Zoie is almost back to normal. My poor girl.

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There are two things that every dog owner should know: the Heimlich maneuver for dogs: and CPR for dogs. Thank God that I didn't have to use the latter.