HOMETOWN POLICE OFFICER PERFORMS CPR ON POLICE DOG, SAVES DOG'S LIFE

An interesting story from the Author's hometown, Ligonier, Indiana.

Law enforcement officer Josh Halsey and Samo are an officer-canine team. This from the Advance-Leader, reported by Advance-Leader Editor Bob Buttgen, (subscription required):

LIGONIER — Ligonier police officer Josh Halsey is being credited with saving the life of his partner: A two-year-old canine officer, Samo, following a near-tragic accident Tuesday night.

Samo and Halsey have been partners for only a few months, after the police department reinstated its canine program earlier this year, after a lapse of several years.

But Tuesday night, at about 7:30 p.m., their partnership almost came to a terrible halt.

Halsey describes the event:

“I ran up to him and he was laying down and wasn’t responding to my commands, so I knew something was wrong right away,” he said. “He wasn’t breathing and was unresponsive.”

Halsey, who went through a 14-week training course in Allen County with Samo, relied on that training when the incident started.

He started giving his partner CPR, when he noticed a large lump in Samo’s throat. The dog had somehow swallowed a tennis ball and it was stuck in his throat. Tennis balls and similar objects are often used to train police dogs.

"I tarted pressing on his neck and throat and was able to work it out of him,” Halsey said. “But he still wasn’t right. His breathing was all wrong and he still wasn’t responding correctly.”

Halsey quickly picked up his dog and placed him into his police vehicle, a specially equipped SUV. The Ligonier officer contacted his trainer from Allen County, who advised him to transport Samo to a veterinarian’s office near Garrett. That vet works with police dogs on a regular basis.

Samo is doing fine and will be back on the job Friday night.

A video interview of Halsey with Samo is currently playing on CNN Headline News and is also posted on the CNN Website.

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