Dog Rescued and Resuscitated
Published: March 24, 2006
When firefighter Kathy Elsaesser rushed into a burning house on Crevasse Street earlier this week, she found little Sebastian huddled in terror under a pile of clothes in a bedroom.
The dog was barely breathing. And as she cradled his limp body and rushed him outside, his labored breathing stopped.
Elsaesser handed the dog to firefighter Mark Olivenbaum, who knew what to do.
As part of his training, Olivenbaum had gone to a veterinarian’s office and had been taught how to resuscitate animals. This training saved Sebastian, a 4-year-old dachshund.
Olivenbaum quickly slipped a child-sized tube down the small dog’s throat and breathed for him for 4 or 5 minutes, until the dog could breathe on his own.
Lakeland Fire Department public information officer Cheryl Edwards said the Fire Department doesn’t respond to pet rescue calls, but because they were already at the fire, they were able to save Venita Richardson’s beloved pet.
On Thursday morning, Richardson cradled Sebestian in her arms as she stopped at the Lakeland Fire Department’s Station 3 to thank the crew.
“He’s all I have in the world,” she said. “I lost everything in the fire. He’s the reason for me to try to find a new place to live and start my life again.”
She is living temporarily with family.
“There’s nothing that I can say that’s enough to thank these people,” she said tearfully. “He’s my baby.”
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