We do our very best to be responsible dog parents. But sometimes things happen that even the most well prepared owners aren’t ready for. With that being said, our Doberman Diesel almost didn’t live to see his first birthday.
Two days before he was to turn one year old, Diesel stopped breathing. We struggle just to write this, to retell his story, but we feel compelled to share what happened if only to save another dog’s life. So in sharing the hidden dangers of seemingly innocent collars we hope we can educate dog owners to be pro-active and prevent a potentially deadly outcome for their dogs.
On a warm evening in March a horrific turn of events left our baby boy lifeless on the back lawn. It was just before sunset as Diesel and his sister Dakoda played outside waiting for their dinner as they do every night. They are usually collarless when at home, but for some reason on this particular evening they both had collars on.
We were in the kitchen when all of the sudden we heard the most horrendous sound of screeching dogs. Our first thought was, dog fight?! Our two beloved dogs were at each other’s throats, or so it seemed. Our dogs have grown up together and have never been in any fights with any dogs, let alone with each other so there we stood terrified and confused. Without even thinking we immediately braced each dog by the head as we frantically attempted to figure out what was going on and pull the two apart.
What seemed like an eternity was most likely under a minute. But what we came to understand in that minute was that our dogs were badly tangled so tightly that one was killing the other. Dakoda had Diesel’s collar twisted around her bottom jaw and hooked in her teeth so there was no way of pulling it off. As she screamed in pain, we realized our precious baby boy was being strangled by his own collar. Both dogs were thrashing about in such a panic that our struggle was to hold them steady so as to prevent the inevitable.
It was then that Diesel went limp. The horror we felt as we watched the life drain from his eyes is unbearable to even recount. But had it not been for this, we might not have been able to save him. As soon as he stopped moving we were able to physically roll him over several times to unhook Dakoda’s jaw. Thinking quickly Jesse began to give Diesel CPR. Breathing his hardest into Diesel’s mouth and pumping his heart. The twilight of sunset seemed to freeze time, as Diesel lay on the lawn, lifeless, not breathing. This could not be happening.
All at once he sputtered and coughed as his chest started to rise again and air flowed into his lungs. He lay there in Jesse’s arms as we grasped what had just unfolded. Diesel had died, only to be saved by his forever hero.
~
The outcome could have been tragic, we thank the heavens for Diesel’s life and for the saving grace of quick thinking and pet CPR. We want to raise awareness about the potential dangers of collars. We would never have thought this could happen, but now that it has we want to pass on our story.
-Dogs should always be supervised when wearing collars.
-If supervision is not available they should be in breakaway collars in case they become hung up while no one is around.
-Collars should be worn snug to the neck.
We have also teamed up with our local dog trainer to host a Pet CPR Workshop on November 12. If you are in the Temecula Valley area you are cordially invited to attend this special night to learn life saving techniques for pets, please join us!
Pet CPR & First Aid Workshop
Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $60
To register: Contact Lynne at Cool Dog Training by email info@cooldogtraining.com or call (951) 676-9622.
You will learn:
• Actions to take in an emergency.
• Finding out what is wrong and making assessments.
• How to care for bleeding wounds and burns.
• How to care for shock.
• Care for head and spine injuries.
• Muscle, bone and joint injuries.
• Care for heart attack and stroke.
• Care for poisoning.
• Heat and cold emergencies.
• Rescuing and moving victims.
Dogs make our lives whole. When they leave our earthly presence a part of our heart goes missing as well. Each pet holds a special place in our memory that can never be replaced or forgotten. National Pet Memorial Day seeks to honor dogs and pets both past and present and the irreplaceable impression they leave on our lives.