Pet Owner Gets 911 Tips In Hog Heimlich

A potbellied pig was saved from hog heaven by a 911 dispatcher who talked the animal’s owner through the Heimlich maneuver.

The pig’s owner called 911 in a panic.

“My pig! She’s choked, and she’s passed out,” said the woman, whose trembling voice was recorded by Cowlitz County 911. Her name was not released.

Dispatcher Tracy Mosier relied on emergency cards used in human choking emergencies to talk the woman through the Heimlich maneuver.

Lift the unconscious pig to its feet, put your arms around its middle and squeeze, she instructed the distraught woman.

As the woman squeezed, the pig could be heard emitting two juicy belches - presumably coughing up the food caught in its throat.

The grateful owner apparently didn’t mind that one of the resuscitated pig’s first acts was to soil the floor. Mosier advised her to take the animal to a vet and have her checked out.

“I got off the phone, and all the sudden it dawned on me: I just told someone how to give a Heimlich maneuver on a pig,” said the 13-year veteran dispatcher.

“And it worked!”

The county’s 911 director, Cindy Barnd, says operators have helped talk other pet owners through “mouth-to-snout” resuscitation of a Chihuahua and performing the Heimlich maneuver on a puppy.

Mosier said she was glad to help out Monday afternoon.

“Seriously, it was a really good feeling to know that everyone was OK.”