Japanese fire and rescue department credits dog for saving man who suffered a heart attack
KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — A five-year-old dog in Chiba, Japan, received an appreciation letter from the Fire and Rescue Department for saving a man who nearly died.
Koume, who lives at Chiba Riding Park in Wakaba Ward, had barked incessantly to draw attention to the man's medical condition, The Japan News reported.
A staff member of the horse-riding facility was also credited by the Wakaba Fire Department for preventing the man’s situation from becoming serious.
According to the club, the man, who is in his 50s, had complained of feeling unwell after riding a horse on February 25 at about 4.30pm.
While heading to his car at the parking lot to rest, the man suffered a heart attack, lost consciousness and collapsed.
Thankfully, Koume, who is known for being friendly towards humans, was tagging along with the man when he collapsed which led to the black coloured canine to bark.
Hearing Koume's barks, the club's personnel used an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to revive the man while waiting for the ambulance's arrival.
The man was successfully revived and has since returned to the club to ride again without suffering from any after effects.
The club's instructor Yuna Maruo said Koume is usually very quiet and only barks under rare circumstances.
“[Koume] loves people and everyone thinks he’s great,” the 23-year-old said.
A spokesman of the Wakaba Fire Department said Koume’s bark for help and the actions taken by the staffer were the perfect way to respond to the situation.
