Heroic dog saves choking owner

Examiner.com ^ | October 25, 2012 | Penny Eims

[Altariel]

An 18-year-old girl from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, is crediting her Japanese Akita with saving her life.

According to Wednesday's publication of the Daily Mail, the 4-year-old dog, named "Sheba," came to Aysha Perry's aid last Friday when the girl began to choke on a piece of chicken.

Perry, who was home alone at the time, describes what happened:

‘She whacked me on the back with one of her huge front paws and the piece of chicken flew out.
‘I’ve got to say it hurt a little as she is such a huge dog but I can’t really complain.
‘I was at home on my own and genuinely thought I was going to die.
‘I’ve only had her for two weeks, she must have heard me choking and came running in.

[Sacajaweau]

She was doing all three....standing, sitting and on the floor.

I don't think a dog can whack with enough force with one paw...in fact, it's almost ridiculous. But it's a pretty big paw, she said.

[Slings and Arrows]

They are quite an unpredictable breed and were used for bringing down bears.

"Yo, bear: YOU SUCK!"

[RCFlyer]

- Sorry....don’t believe this one
- neither do I.....

---

I can't believe a dog could provide the sharp, strong whack required... a two-pawed push, yes, but that wouldn't dislodge the food.

[Ditter]

My thought is not could a dog do it but WOULD a dog KNOW to do it. A dog might bark to attract attention to the problem of a choking owner or protect an owner when they were in distress but hit them on the back? Nah I can't see it.

[Sacajaweau]

You have to explain to me how a dog physically whacks ....And with enough force to dislodge a bone. Ridiculous.

Ever seen a dog whack?? Besides a cat...

[caddie]

In other news, a St. Bernard at a Tampa, Florida little league ballpark attached an AED to a senior who had just fallen.

[Telepathic Intruder]

According to the story the dog jumped on her, and not just “whacked her with its paw”. Look, I’m not being confrontational here. You may be right and so may I. I just think the story is plausible.

[reformedliberal]

1) I have owned a Japanese Akita and now have an American Akita pup.

2) They are scary bright, but very independent. Also very protective. It is all hardwired, too. I see behaviors in the pup that I came to know well in the Japanese Akita. They are not unpredictable. They actually think about things and love to figure them out. They have a sneaky side and will pretend to do what you want, such as chewing a rawhide or a bone, while positioning themselves to do what they want, which is gnaw on the furniture or the couch or you. They are very mouthy and need constant re-direction and training in *gentle* and *No bite*. As adults, when well-trained, they will *hold* your hand in their mouth and not even apply any pressure. It is for reassurance. They will let you know when they are acquiescing while disagreeing with what I call *the capitulation snort*, sort of a *last word* before they follow orders. They are vocal, but it usually grumbles or woo-woo sounds instead of barks, although some females are barkers. They move silently, almost like a cat and quickly at the same time. They seem fully aware of your blindspot.

2) They were bred to work in male/female pairs and HOLD large game until the owner/hunter came. They have immense heart and their primary technique is to lower their center of gravity and block. While only 100-120 pounds at maturity, they can become immovable, if they wish. Their jaws attach in a knot of muscle at the top of their heads and some even retain a primitive sagittal crest. They can impart tremendous force with those jaws. They can and do bite off branches to set their back teeth at around 1 year old. They select a supple tree, bite off what they want and proceed to chomp down on it, breaking it into pieces in short order. They literally eat entire shed antlers.

In spite of this, they learn *gentle* quickly.

My former dog once dragged a complete adult deer carcass back to the house from about 2 acres away (he stole it from the coyotes). In his dotage, just 6 months before his death at 12 1/2, he did the same to a yearling deer carcass, and at that time, he had very weak back knees.

Their paws are immense, even as adults. Sort of like snowshoes.

Finally, this dog is an American Akita. The Japanese are mostly fawn or red and have no mask. They look more foxy or cat-like that the Americans, which have chow, boxer and GSD genes.

[Slings and Arrows]

But do they put down bears?

They sound like great dogs. I’ve had the pleasure of being owned by a JRT myself.

[Hot Tabasco]

The person who wacked me on the back when I was choking had no training at all, obviously. How did he know?

That's always been the first reaction people take when they see someone choking. What do you do to a baby to get it to burp after feeding?

But to address your question, why didn't they perform they Heimlich maneuver?

[ottbmare]

...a horse came to my defense against a black bear, who came wandering into my vicinity looking very angry that I was too near to its bear cub (through no fault of mine own I guarantee it). Long story short, the horse acted deliberately on my behalf.

I believe you. I've seen horses do similar things with humans they love.

I doubt this dog thought, "If I hit my mistress on her back the chicken will be dislodged from her trachea." But he certainly realized she was in danger, and his big heavy paw might just have hit her in a fortuitous way in his excitement.

[Sacajaweau]

She was crawling on the floor to reach the phone....too funny......Maybe she should have thought about that before infusing that in her little story.

choking does not bring you to the floor...

In my 70 years...have never seen that....

I believe this "story" first appeared in a dog magazine.

[Salamander]

My first Ibizan Hound, Minny, saved me when the wood stove back drafted, filling the whole house with smoke.

I was completely unconscious and I awoke to her jumping on my chest with her front paws and barking into my face.

I got the dogs out, shut down the wood stove and we all sat huddled in the dark sub-zero cold until the smoke cleared.

I got smoke inhalation double pneumonia but I was alive.

I saved her from death row -literally- minutes before she was to be put to death.

That dog repaid me many times over, including jumping on the ex who was ‘sleeper holding’ me to kill me.

Dogs are more than we think.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Yes. Who can say that animals have no souls, or no sense of something byond intuition or instinct? God apparently didn’t make us privy to that information. I only know that they taste good on occasion, and if one saves your life then it doesn’t. You’d give your own life to save that animal too, that’s a fact.

[garandgal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17819432/ns/health-pet_health/t/dog-saves-owner-modified-heimlich/#.UIz1PYaz5qo

http://digitaljournal.com/article/321997

Here’s another from a few years ago where the dog jumped on the owner when she was choking. And, a heartwarming story of a dog who was being strangled by a phone cord & dialed for help. Could it have been an accidental dialing...perhaps, but who knows?

Then there’s this one, where the owner accidentally left the dog in a hot car...so the dog decided to get attention by honking the horn.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/weird/Dog-Saves-His-Own-Life-by-Honking-Horn-100168879.html

Dogs are just SO STUPID...LOL! Whatever makes the cretins feel better about themselves, I guess. After thousands of examples of dogs saving people from fires, floods, the enemy during wartime...one would think that it would be rather obvious that dogs possess a good deal of intelligence.

Around here, the worthless rubes keep their labs outside in pens “’cuz they’s worthless for huntin’ if they’s housedogs.” Then, you will hear them complain that their “stupid” dog ran away.

Um, no..the dog is fleeing in an attempt to find intelligent life that it knows must exist somewhere...LOL!

[reformedliberal]

AFAIK, they do not do the kill. They are trained to hold until the hunters arrive.

At one point, our pack consisted of a middle-aged BeagleX and a young Akita. The neighborhood coyotes decided to take out the BeagleX, likely because he was taking all the bunnies. The Akita jumped in to help his buddy and the two of them kept a pack of coyotes really busy. Finally Dad came out w/the shotgun as the dogs were really winded. Our coyotes know that gun and they all took off.

Lots of heart.

Don’t know if I could keep up w/a JRT, at my age. This puppy is a great exercise program, but at least he will grow up to mellow out!

They are terrific dogs, but take a lot of time in the beginning. You must establish dominance w/o any anger or aggression on your part, as that just sets off _their_ aggression, which gets the opposite result. Very
strong-willed. We spend a lot of time re-directing his energy and chewing needs. I’d say they take more time and commitment than many other breeds. Good watch dogs, good at decimating vermin like coon and possum. They will root out moles (leaving your lawn looking like a mine field after the fact), eat entire mouse nests, but the older ones will not waste energy on bunnies or squirrels, preferring to just watch them. They end up being your best, most loving friend. They are very protective, but will block people, rather than attack.

We still miss the last guy, a lot. He was the official greeter for my husband’s massage practice. He would announce clients, escort them in and wait outside the treatment room to escort them out. They do need a *job*. Some people train them to pull. They compete pretty well at that.