A playful, floppy-eared German shepherd named Leo can play fetch
for a few more years thanks to a quick-thinking San Benito County
Sheriff’s deputy who saved the dog’s life with mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation.
The 80-pound brown and black dog would have choked to death on
his favorite play toy in a freak accident on Sunday if it had not
been for the quick actions of sheriff’s deputy Patty
Neugebauer.
A playful, floppy-eared German shepherd named Leo can play fetch for a few more years thanks to a quick-thinking San Benito County Sheriff’s deputy who saved the dog’s life with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The 80-pound brown and black dog would have choked to death on his favorite play toy in a freak accident on Sunday if it had not been for the quick actions of sheriff’s deputy Patty Neugebauer.
“If it wasn’t for her and her help, this dog would not be alive today,” said Dan West, Leo’s owner. “There’s not enough good things I can say about her.”
Neugebauer, a pet owner herself, downplayed her efforts, saying her main concern was for the dog.
“He’s alive and well, and I’m just happy about that,” she said.
West said Leo’s playful nature almost turned fatal at about 3 p.m. when Leo and West were playing fetch with ta red rubber ball.
“Sometimes Leo likes to jump up in the air and grab the ball before it can hit the ground,” West said.
Everything was going normally, until one time when Leo jumped and grabbed the ball in mid-air, and West knew something was wrong as soon as Leo landed.
“It just went too far back in his throat and got lodged back behind his tongue,” West said.
Leo’s shoulders and chest convulsed and his mouth opened wide as he tried repeatedly to cough up the hard rubber ball.
West picked Leo up and was putting him in the back of his pickup truck when he spotted Neugebauer.
Neugebauer had just stopped by her home, a few doors away, on a quick errand when she saw West waving and yelling for help.
Neugebauer helped load Leo in the bed of the pickup and directed West to head for Ausaymas Veterinary Services.
On the way to pet hospital, West called ahead to tell the veterinarian that they were on the way with an emergency and to meet them there.
“But his answering service said he was already away on another emergency,” West said. “She suggested that we drive Leo over to Salinas or Monterey, but he would have died before we got there.”
West and Neugebauer stopped just short of the veterinarian’s office and started to work on Leo immediately.
“I tried to reach back in his throat to see if I could get a finger on the ball and pull it out, but every time I tried to pull the ball out it would just spin,” West said.
The blockage had cut off the air to Leo’s lungs and the dog passed out and stopped breathing.
“When he passed out, the back of his tongue relaxed enough that I could get the ball out,” West said.
However, by the time the ball was dislodged from Leo’s throat, Neugebauer and West had trouble finding a heartbeat.
“He expired when we got the ball out,” Neugebauer said.
But Neugebauer refused to give up on Leo and immediately started giving the dog mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
“As soon as the ball popped out, she grabbed the dog’s muzzle and without hesitation she started giving him mouth-to-mouth,” West said. “She didn’t hesitate a minute. She just went for broke and did what she had to do,”
After a few minutes of animal CPR, Leo slowly regained consciousness.
West credited Leo’s survival directly to Neugebauer’s ability to think under pressure.
“I was emotional about the whole thing, but she kept a clear and level head and guided the whole process,” West said
Sheriff Curtis Hill said he was not surprised to hear about Neugebauer’s act.
“That’s indicative of somebody who is prepared to go above and beyond the call of duty,” Hill said. “I’m very proud of her.”
Except for some soreness to his throat, Leo is still running around his property playing fetch, but not with the same red ball.
“He’s not getting that ball back. I’ve taken it and put it in the truck and I’m going to buy him a bigger one – one that he can’t swallow,” West said.
