Police Dog Successfully Taught To Perform CPR, Recording Shows Him in Action
Knowing how to perform CPR matters, and that’s a truth backed up by numbers.
The American Heart association reports that, when measured globally, “cardiac arrest claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, auto accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined.”
Yet when we consider CPR, we normally think of, well, people. A plucky police dog from Spain, though, has shown everyone the importance of knowing the procedure.
The dog’s name is Poncho, and he normally serves as a pooch specializing in bomb defusing. He’s trained to follow lasers in order to discover danger areas.
However, in this case, his training involved another activity, an activity not typically suited for pooches. That activity was CPR.
A video posted to the official Municipal Police of Madrid Twitter account showed an officer collapse without warning onto a towel. That was when a very enthusiastic Poncho rushed into action.
Poncho ran over to the man’s prone form, giving him a quick survey from head to toe. Then the plucky pooch launched himself up into the air and pounded his forelimbs onto the officer’s chest.
The dog did so several times before nuzzling up against the officer’s neck, his stub of a tail fairly vibrating with happiness. The affectionate tilt of his head was supposed to show how to assess whether or not a subject was breathing.
The crowd’s gasp of wonder soon shifted into laughter, and it was obvious why.
Though adorable, Poncho’s efforts weren’t anywhere fast or strong enough to actually save someone suffering from cardiac arrest.
CPR guidelines state that compressions ought to be given at about 100 per minute. Ironically enough, that’s about the rhythm of the Bee Gee’s hit “Stayin’ Alive.”
Though the police stated that Poncho doesn’t actually perform real-life CPR, his actions serve as a worthy reminder that we all ought to be able to perform this most basic skill.
Who knows? We may save the life of a loved one or a complete stranger.
It’s also a reminder of the value of a dog’s loyalty. In the tweet, the Municipal Police of Madrid sagely wrote, “A dog is the only being in the world that will love you more than it loves itself.”
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