Veterinary nurse highlights the life-saving skills every pet parent must know and it's an eye-opener

Most dog parents strive to ensure that their furry companions are taken care of in the best way possible. However, not everyone may be prepared to deal with emergencies when their pooch becomes unresponsive. A dog mom and veterinary nurse named Eve, who goes by @eve_the_veterinary_nurse on TikTok, enlightened pet parents with valuable advice on how to save their dog's life. In May 2023, she posted a detailed demonstration of how to perform CPR on unresponsive dogs and it has garnered over 13.7 million views so far. Turns out, pet parents need to remember three things—A, B and C—before rushing their dog to the vet.

A stands for airway and the nurse emphasized that one has to first check if the dog's airway is clear. This can be ensured by checking if the neck is extended and any possible blockages can be observed by moving the dog's tongue to the side. "If there's anything in there blocking the airway, you need to remove it. Either use your fingers and do a sweep - do not push it further in - or manually [extract] it from the outside," Eve explained. Next is B which stands for breathing. One can check the dog's breathing by observing the rise and fall of its body or by feeling it with their hand. "And also use your face, as long as you're not going to get bitten, to see if you can feel any breath on your face," she added.

Then, it's time to check the dog's heartbeat or pulse. One can place their two fingers on the inside of the dog's back thigh where they can feel the pulse of the femoral artery. "Presuming the airway is clear, they're not breathing and there is no heartbeat, you then need to move on to your CPR," Eve explained. "To do this, move the tongue out of the mouth and seal the mouth closed. On big dogs, seal your mouth completely around its nose. On little dogs, put your mouth completely around its snout," she added. Eve emphasized that one should deliver five long breaths into the dog's mouth until the dog's body rises. After these breaths come the compression for which one has to interlock their finger and deliver thrusts with their palm over the dog's heart.

"When we've done the 30 compressions, we move back on to breaths, but you only want to deliver two. Two breaths and 30 compressions," Eve explained. It's essential to keep alternating between the breaths and the compressions while also ensuring to dial the vet. "Phone the vet, let them know that you're on the way, let them know what happened, and they'll be prepared for your arrival," she said. While it's ideal for the dog to be laid on its right side, Eve says that it's fine if the dog is on its left too. "Any CPR is better than none," she remarked in the end. This viral video grabbed the attention of many pet parents who were grateful for this life-saving CPR lesson.

"I’m a dog groomer and I really appreciate seeing this. I’m sharing this with all of my coworkers," said @hellomerrmerr. "I feel like I owed it to my dog to sit through this entire video. Love her. Thank you," commented @nellaecinhs. "When my childhood dog passed. None of us knew how to do CPR on a dog and he died on the car ride to the pet ER. I feel like I owe it to him watching this," added @sayonarar_inde.

You can follow The veterinary nurse (@eve_the_veterinary_nurse) on TikTok for more pet care content.