'Canine CPR' dog saves owner’s life, nominated for medal

This is one way of reforming the health system: In 2007, dog’s owner collapses, dog barks and jumps up and down on the owner’s chest. Owner revives enough to call for help. Result: paramedic pooch does most of the work, owner alive and well.

The Australian cattle dog received the RSPCA animal achievement award and is to be nominated for the Purple Cross, the RSPCA's highest award for bravery. Anyone who knows working dogs will know that they’re usually brighter than most humans, and have better reflexes, but this is a new one. The Doggy Defibrillator may well be the way for cash strapped paramedic units to go. The dog, Teka, apparently did exactly the right thing by rousing her owner. Doctors have since advised Mr. Touzeau he would have been dead, if not for Teka’s efforts. Mr. Touzeau said Teka was “really pounding” his chest, which most people would recognize as one of the methods used by doctors as a heart starter. Either this dog’s been watching House too much, or dog owners have been right all along, and they know when there’s a problem. This was hardly a simple situation. When Mr. Touzeau collapsed in his factory he also cut himself severely, so even by basic medical standards this was no minor event. Apparently the old “licking the owner’s face” routine wasn’t on Teka’s mind. There are any number of ways a dog can react to a sick owner, and CPR was evidently the preferred option. The accepted theory in dog circles is that humans change smells when sick, so apparently the prescription called for CPR. The next thing, obviously, will be Collie chiropractors, Airedale aerobics instructors, Pomeranian physical trainers, and the TV series Dog House, which will also act as an incentive to get fossilized hospitals up to some level of functional design. The other good news is that no fund, HMO, or third party is likely to argue with a dog prescribing treatment for its people. “Dumb animals?” There’s no such thing.