Who doesn’t love dogs? They’re loving, caring, and can be your most loyal companion. What you might have not realized is that they can even physically save your life. Recently, 1000’s of miles away in Madrid in a viral video, a dog is actually attempting to perform CPR on a down officer. Madrid is currently attempting to train their K-9 dogs to perform CPR on injured officers.
However, the question remains, can a dog really learn efficient CPR? The answer, most likely not. There is a certain amount of accuracy, and power that come along with doing CPR, that a dog can’t really provide. Although the video is undeniably cute and offers thoughts into the future of those who can perform CPR, at this point a dog doesn’t seem like the right fit.
Although dogs may not be able to provide direct hands or paws only CPR, service dogs can provide help to many people with conditions such as diabetes, blindness, and ptsd, just to name a few. There has also been speculation of dogs having the ability to detect a heart attack based upon a change in odor on their owner. For example, dogs have been known to detect cancer at the earliest stages and display the message through barking or body language. Having your pup detect that you are about to have a heart attack has not been proven yet, however, individuals have reported cases of their dog excessively barking right before having a myocardial infarction.
So although a dog may not be able to directly perform CPR, they may be able to warn you of an impending heart attack. Not only can they snuggle with you at night and keep you company when you’re alone but they may just be able to save your life.