Crew helps save choking guide dog

Jan 28 2008 by David James, South Wales Echo

A GUIDE dog choking on a plastic ball was saved by firefighters.

An emergency crew from Roath Fire Station tracked down a vet to save the Labrador guide dog as it struggled to breathe with the plastic toy lodged in its gullet. The crew had been called to tend to the animal by its owner in Llanrumney Avenue, Llanrumney, Cardiff, at just after 3pm yesterday.

Firefighters tracked down a vet in Whitchurch when they were unable to dislodge the ball. As a fire crew took the distressed animal to the Gabalfa Veterinary Practice, the station manager arrived to drive the blind owner to the Merthyr Road practice.

A spokeswoman for the fire service said: “The dog was distressed and having trouble breathing. Fortunately the ball was dislodged and the dog was released with nothing more than a sore throat.”