A South Surrey family is crediting the quick thinking of their pet groomer for saving the life of their dog, Shadow.
Randy Cunningham received a call last month from Chantel Belcourt after the shih tzu-bichon was dropped off at Petland in Grandview Corners, informing him there had been an issue.
"She said someone needed to come and be with Shadow so they could finish the hair cut and that it was for health reasons," Cunningham recalled. "She said his back legs dropped and his tongue turned blue and he essentially died."
Belcourt had quickly sprung into action when the dog was in distress, performing CPR and mouth-to-mouth until he was recusitated.
"I just looked over at his little face and he wasn't breathing and he was lying there lifeless on the table," Belcourt said. "I pumped on his little chest a few times, and gave him mouth-to-mouth then I started to slowly see some life come back into his eyes."
While neither Belcourt or Cunningham know what exactly happened with Shadow, Belcourt believes it may be tied to depression over the loss of the Cunningham's cat a week earlier.
"The owners told me Shadow's best friend was hit by a car and died the week before and he was depressed and moping around, and he was panting at home, and that wasn't normal for him either," she said, noting it's important to inform of any strange behaviour or medical conditions prior to dropping off a dog to a groomer.
Fortunately, the 12-year-old dog was back up and barking the following day.
"He's a big part of our family," Cunningham said. "He's obviously very old, but we're never ready (to lose him)."