Owner saves bulldog with kiss of life

A former Army first aider revived his beloved pet dog by giving her the kiss of life when she choked on a bone. British Bulldog Stella stopped breathing and was lifeless after wolfing down a spare rib whole at a family barbecue. Stella had pinched the treat off a table but it got stuck in her throat on Friday. Her owner, former infantryman Chris Mallett, of Clacton, turned pooch paramedic and saved his beloved dog with mouth to mouth resuscitation he learned during his seven years in the Army.

The dad-of-five, who served with 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglians, said he was alerted to what had happened when his 10-year-old son Bailey ran upstairs crying and saying seven-year-old Stella had died. Mr Mallett said: “I went downstairs and picked Stella up but she wasn’t breathing, she was completely lifeless. I took her outside and prized open her jaws. I put my hand down her throat and I could feel the bone. She hadn’t chewed it at all. She’d swallowed it whole and it was lodged in her throat. I pulled it out and it broke, half of it came out so I put my hand down and got the other bit out. As I pulled it out her body jolted.”

He continued: “I was amazed, it was a sign of life so I thought I would try and give her mouth to mouth. I held her mouth together and blew down her nose like they do with babies. Then I saw some colour came back into her eyes. They were black but I could see the brown coming back into them. She jolted when I blew into her mouth so I kept going. I was rubbing her to try and stimulate her and eventually she started breathing again.

“She lifted her up head and looked like she’d had 15 beers but eventually she got up. Five minutes later she was running around as if nothing had happened, it was amazing. It’s not something I’d look forward to doing again but Stella is right as rain and that’s the main thing. She had all foam around her mouth but I didn’t think twice about getting stuck in. My wife didn’t kiss me until I had washed my face though.”