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Dog walker uses CPR to save boxer’s life
Travis before the incident occurred.

Travis resuscitated three times after his heart stopped during a walk 

A professional dog walker put her animal first-aid skills to the test when she saved the life of a boxer dog in her care.

Karen Hodge was walking eight-year-old Travis near Mansfield in December when he slipped and fell down a hill. She first thought that he was fitting, having looked after epileptic dogs before, but then he didn’t seem to recover as expected.

“He lost control of his bowels, and then I saw he’d stopped breathing and his eyes were glazing over,” she explained. “At that point, I knew something was seriously wrong, and I needed to act immediately.”

As luck would have it, Karen had recently completed a PDSA Pet First Aid course - organised by the charity Notts & Yorkshire Boxer Rescue, where she also volunteers.

“The PDSA Pet First Aid course was great, it covered lots of information and we did demos too, so everything was fresh in my mind,” she said. “I never thought I’d be using the skills so soon, but something just took over - I went into automatic and knew exactly what to do.”

Karen confirmed that Travis’ heart had stopped and that he wasn’t breathing, so she began to deliver CPR. She also asked her daughter Emily, who was with her that day, to run back to the van and call Travis’ owners.

Travis came round after several minutes but was confused and unable to walk, so Karen and Emily carried him back to the van and set off for the nearest veterinary practice. During the one-mile journey, Travis stopped breathing again and Karen told her daughter how to carry out CPR whilst she continued to drive - thankfully, he was resuscitated again.

Travis’ heart stopped for the third time on arrival at the vets and needed to be resuscitated by the veterinary team. They were able to stabilise him, but later referred Travis to a specialist cardiologist, where he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Travis is now on medication for his condition but has been warned against any vigorous exercise as his heart could stop at any time. Owner Julie, who has had Travis since he was a puppy, said: “We really can’t thank Karen enough – without her Travis wouldn’t still be with us.

“Thankfully he’s pretty much back to normal, he still loves to play and to look at him you wouldn’t know anything was wrong with him. But it’s a real worry for us that this could reoccur, it’s like living on tenterhooks constantly.”

PDSA community vet nurse, Kaya Hawrylak, who delivered the Pet First Aid course, said: “Travis is incredibly lucky to be alive, and he has Karen to thank for that. Our Pet First Aid courses enable people to learn vital emergency skills that can literally mean the difference between life and death for pets until they can get to a vet.”

Image (C) PDSA

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.