Jodie Marsh saved her elderly dog’s life when he choked on a treat.
The 38-year-old former glamour model has learned how to stop her beloved bulldog Louis from collapsing by not walking him in hot weather and ensuring his food is pureed, but when he accidentally ate something belonging to one of her other pooches, Jodie quickly came to his aid and administered CPR to bring him back to life.
She posted a video of her attempts on Facebook and appeared to other owners of the breed to take note.
She said: “The average life expectancy of a bulldog is 6 years old and myself and some friends have had them only make it to 3 years old. Mostly when they pass away you’ll be told it was a heart attack – chances are it’s probably not and could be this:
“Earlier today this happened and my mum filmed it. Louie my bulldog has an elongated soft pallet which makes it difficult for him to breathe and eat. He often collapses when eating and for over 2 years now I have been blending his food into a liquid. We had given all the dogs some treats today and Louie had picked one up that was too big for his throat.
“He choked, passed out, went completely limp, urinated on himself and his tongue went blue. This happens every couple of months with Louie and it’s so bad you would honestly think he’s dead. He has no signs of life.
“Pardon my CPR skills (they may not be perfect but he’s alive and well and that’s all that matters and the reason I kept going after he gurgled and showed signs of life is cos he was fitting and cos I couldn’t hear him breathing), but please watch and learn and show to ANY bulldog owner. You CAN bring them back round if they collapse like this. Mostly they collapse either from heat or from choking (or both).
“Ways to avoid this happening are NEVER take them out walking in hot weather and blend their food into a liquid. I use Natural Instinct raw food and when you add water to this it automatically turns into a soup like liquid with some stirring (it’s perfect for dogs with soft pallet problems).
“If they collapse when out, the best thing to do is soak them in cold water. I’ve previously dunked them in the nearest stream or lake!!(sic)
Jodie – who had been administering aid to Louis for three minutes before the five-and-a-half minute video began – went on to advise how best to bring a dog back around after they’ve collapsed.
She explained: “You need to get their body temperature down and you need to keep talking to them and stroking them and to keep them calm.
“If you had seen the scene before my mum started filming it was honestly like he was dead. Blue tongue, limp body and no signs of breathing.
“You also need to get your fingers down their throats to clear any blockage.
“You can see on the floor next to Louie is the food that I pulled out of his throat. Often I can feel that his throat has closed so I try to open it back up.
“You can also see where he had urinated on the floor. I tend to wear gloves as when he starts to show signs of life again he often clamps his teeth down on my hand so the gloves protect me a bit.”
She ended her lengthy post with a plea for the video to be shared to help more dogs.
She said: “Louie is 12, nearly 13 years old which is ancient for a bulldog. He 100% would be dead by now if I didn’t do this. Please please share and make other bulldog owners aware.
“A few weeks ago I met a bulldog in a pet shop who had just been walked there with his owners in the middle of the day in the blazing sun.
“I could hear that his breathing was close to that of when they collapse. I told them all about this soft pallet thing (common in squash faced dogs) and told them not to walk him in the blazing sun. This video may just save the life of a beloved pet (or many). People NEED to be aware that these aren’t just “heart attacks”. SHARE PLEASE (sic)”