"I don't know how Jake knew what to do, but he sure as heck did it, said grateful Amy, 60.
"He tipped Garrett's head back and put the paw over his nose and started breathing into his mouth, just like they told us in CPR class. He kept at it for maybe 40 to 60 seconds and the next thing you know, Garrett started coming around. I still can't believe it happened, but the doctor says if that dog hadn't acted so fast, Garrett would have died for sure -- or suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen.
Amazing Jake swing into action just moments after his 85-year-old master keeled over unconscious at the couple's suburban home April 10.
"Garrett had had two heart attacks when we lived in the Midwest, so last year we took a first-aid class together so we'd know what to do in an emergency -- and we even practiced CPR on each other, said embarrassed Amy. "And when Garret collapsed in our living room and I absolutely froze. I just couldn't make myself do anything. All I could do was stand there and scream. But the next thing I know, there was Jake, giving Garrett mouth-to-mouth as cool as could be -- so at that point I came to my senses and ran to the phone and called an ambulance.
The retired fireman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remained in intensive care for 13 days. "The first thing I did when I got home was give Jake a big kiss and the juiciest steak I could find -- because my doctors, the ambulance guys and everybody said I'd be a goner if it weren't for that pooch, the easygoing gramps recalled. "Nobody has any idea how he did what he did, and neither did I. Our vet says dogs have great instincts and maybe Jake watched us practicing CPR at home and just picked up on it somehow. All I know is, that dog is my best friend -- and I'll never bitch about his breath again.
Grateful Garrett Cornice,
right, and his wife Amy are all smiles since their German shepherd Jake saved
him from a heart attack.
The Heavenly Melodious Teaching