Police officers are taught life-saving techniques, skills to diffuse tense situations and self-defensive moves while enrolled in the police academy. They aim to learn how to protect the lives of other people and curb crime.
One officer’s skill set was put to the test when a woman frantically sprinted into the North Reading Police Department. But she wasn’t the one who needed help.
It was her beautiful fluffy 9-week-old St. Bernard puppy named Bodhi! Megan Vitale had just brought the pupper home the day before when he began choking on his dog food.
Poor Bodhi stopped breathing and lapsed into unconsciousness. Megan had no clue what to do to save her furbaby’s life!
So she snatched up her puppy as tears streamed down her cheeks and rushed to the nearest source of help. That would be the police officers of North Reading, Massachusetts.
Her friend carried the puppy and they both burst into the police station and shouted for help through the window while the man blew air into the puppy’s mouth. Officer Jorge Hernandez heard the ruckus out in the entryway and came booking around the corner to see what was happening.
When he saw the limp, lifeless puppy, Officer Hernandez dropped to his knees and firmly grabbed ahold of the dog.
“You don’t really train for a dog in the academy, so the only thing I would say going through my mind was, ‘Oh my God, I hope I’m doing this right.'”
Security footage at the police department captured the 10-minute nerve-wracking rescue on camera. Officer Hernandez is joined by two other officers, Peter DiPetro, and Joseph Ale.
Megan paces frantically, clearly distraught over her puppy’s fate.
Officer Hernandez encapsulated Bodhi’s body in his hands and began squeezing his chest. He performed CPR and whacked him on the back in a manner befitting a choking puppy.
“He was just kind of limp basically, and had a lot of foam in his mouth. I put the dog down on the floor and I mean my whole hands pretty much wrapped around him and I just started kind of pumping away at his chest. It wasn’t working at first, and then I finally kind of heard like a puff of air come out.”
As soon as the food was expelled and Bodhi could breathe again, the officer scooped him up and swaddled him in a blanket. Firefighters who had arrived from next door placed a special oxygen mask just for pets over his face. You can see in the footage how the puppy is roused once he started receiving the fresh oxygen.
The poor puppy had no idea what had happened when he finally came to.
“Kind of alert looking around and was like ‘what are you guys all doing here?’ He was pretty happy afterward.”
Bodhi was taken to the veterinarian where it was believed he had a possible respiratory illness after his lungs filled up.
North Reading Police Chief Michael Murphy credited Officer Hernandez’s training and calm demeanor for the duration of the rescue as the key to why Bodhi was saved.
“Even though we are not faced with this kind of incident every day, the officers reacted just as they would in any emergency situation. We are hopeful that the puppy will make a full recovery.”
North Reading Fire Chief Don Stats shared how many firefighters have pets at home and that this rescue hit home for them, too.
“We do not get to choose the emergency situation that comes our way, so it is important that first responders be prepared for anything.”
Pets are part of the family and just like learning first aid and CPR skills for adults and children is critical, so is understanding first aid for pets.
The American Red Cross offers a cat and dog first aid online course that humans should take for their safety and well being for their furry babies.
Thank goodness Officer Hernandez was on duty and able to save Bodhi’s life! Watch the hair-raising video below. It’s such a relief when Bodhi begins to show signs of recovering!
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