A Virginia construction worker saved a dying German Shepherd stuck in a traffic jam by giving him mouth-to-mouth
- A Virginia construction worker saved a dying dog by giving him mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions after his owner got stuck in a traffic jam en route to the vet.
- Jett, a 3-year-old German Shepherd, had swallowed a ball while playing fetch and stopped breathing while his owner was driving.
- The quick-thinking construction worker reached down Jett's throat and pulled out the ball, then started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
- It was "the first time I've ever gave any living animal mouth-to-mouth but I got his a-- breathing," the worker, Cavaja Holt, said in a Facebook post.
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A Virginia construction worker resuscitated a dying dog by giving him mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions after the dog's owner got stuck in a traffic jam en route to the veterinarian.
The 3-year-old German Shepherd, Jett, was dying in the backseat of his owner's car after he swallowed a ball while playing fetch, according to the Staunton News Leader.
Jett's owner, Teresa Perkins, tried to speed to the vet's office to save him but ended up stuck in traffic due to construction.
Perkins began frantically honking her horn, hoping to attract help, and ended up catching the eye of several construction workers who rushed to her aid.
"By then my dog was pretty much dead," she told the Staunton News Leader. "He was laying in the car, not moving. I had heard him breathe, like gasping, but then he quit. I was frantically crying and praying."
But one of the quick-thinking workers reached his arm down Jett's throat to pull out the ball — then gave him mouth-to-mouth as one of his fellow workers urged him on, Perkins said.
It worked — Jett soon started breathing, and Perkins was able to continue driving to the vet, where staff checked him out and quickly released him.
Though Perkins didn't manage to catch the construction worker's name, they ended up reuniting thanks to social media.
Perkins' daughter, Bliss Nuckols, and the worker, Cavaja Holt, both made Facebook posts about the incident, asking their friends and followers for help getting in touch with one another.
In his post, Holt described how he rescued Jett and "got his a-- breathing."
"Today is the first time I've ever stuck my hand down a strange dogs [sic] throat for any reason but I got the ball out," he wrote. "Not only that but is the first time I've ever gave any living animal mouth-to-mouth."
Perkins called Holt a "hero" and thanked him profusely for saving her dog's life. She told the Staunton News Leader that Jett is feeling much better now, "but he is never, ever, ever, ever going to get a ball again."
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