Dr. Kristie Williams wants every dog owner to learn the external extraction technique so they know what to do in an emergency.
A New York veterinarian is spreading the word about a technique that could save a choking dog’s life. Dr. Kristie Williams of West Hills Animal Hospital recently performed the maneuver on two dogs in the clinic in one day.
Kelly Skinner and her fiancé rushed their 2-year-old dog Hansel to the vet after a ball got lodged in his throat while playing fetch.
“On the way there, he started turning blue, and at one point I thought he died,” Skinner told Inside Edition.
In a remarkable video taken at the hospital, Williams climbs on top of the pit-bull mix and presses down on his throat, causing the ball to pop out.
Amazingly, 20 minutes before Hansel came in, a choking doberman had the same technique applied.
“The term that was coined for this is the external extraction technique, and it's essentially a similar type of Heimlich kind of thing,” Williams said.
The veterinarian says she remembers seeing a training video of the technique, which involves positioning the dog flat on its back, and applying pressure with your fingers from the outside of the throat to dislodge the item up through the dog’s mouth.
“No matter what you do with your animal, you just have to be smart and safe about it,” Williams said.
She wants every dog owner to learn the technique so they know what to do in an emergency.
