STATE : Heimlich Maneuver Saves Puppy

The woman on the telephone was distraught, but a sheriff’s deputy managed to calm her and instruct her how to perform the lifesaving Heimlich maneuver--on her puppy.

The conversation saved the dog, which was choking on a chicken bone, authorities said today.

Anna Mora, 33, of 7731 Lynalan Ave. in an unincorporated area near Whittier, called the Pico Rivera sheriff’s station shortly before 4 p.m. Monday and told Deputy James Stroud that her puppy was choking.

“Mora had given her puppy a chicken bone to play with,” Deputy Roger Hom said. The bone, he said, became stuck in the 2-month-old puppy’s throat.

“Deputy Stroud told Mora to strike the dog between the shoulder blades but not too hard,” Hom said. “He then instructed her to grab the puppy below the rib cage area and to push upward in a thrusting motion to force the dog to throw up the bone.”

The maneuver worked and “the puppy’s fine,” Hom said.