Virginia Construction Worker Saves Dying German Shepherd Through Mouth-to-Mouth

A Virginia construction worker saved a dying German Shepherd stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the veterinarian’s office by giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The three-year-old dog, Jett, was choking in the backseat of his owner’s car after he swallowed a ball during a game of fetch, the Staunton News Leader reported.

Jett’s owner, Teresa Perkins, tried to go above the speed limit to the veterinarian’s office to save his life, but ended up stuck in traffic because of construction.

Perkins frantically honked her horn in the hopes someone would help her and wound up catching the attention of a few construction workers who rushed to help her.

“By then, my dog was pretty much dead,” she told the 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 quick-thinking worker was able to maneuver his arm down Jett’s throat to pull the ball out and then give the animal mouth-to-mouth while one of his coworkers egged him on, Perkins said.

His actions worked, and Jett started breathing again. Perkins was able to continue to drive to the veterinarian’s office, where the staff was expecting them so that he could be examined. Jett was quickly released.

Though Perkins did not get the construction worker’s name, social media eventually connected the two.

Perkins’s daughter and the construction worker, Cavaja Holt, both posted on Facebook about the incident asking friends and followers for help in getting back in touch with each other.

“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,” Holt wrote. “Not only that but is the first time I’ve ever gave any living animal mouth-to-mouth.”

Perkins hailed Holt as a “hero” and thanked him for saving her dog’s life. She told the News Leader that Jett is feeling better now.

“He’s doing great,” she said. “But he is never, ever, ever, ever going to get a ball again.”