A horrible moment of panic when an owner rushed her senior dog to the vet unraveled as soon as they returned home because her canine shockingly demanded food.
Owner Sam told Newsweek that she owns two dogs. With the size difference between the two, she usually breaks off a bigger piece of fruit and vegetables for the larger canine. But, without her seeing, her 13-year-old silky terrier, Nina, snagged the bigger piece of watermelon the other dog spit out.
“Her previous owner abused her—I got her when she was three and now she’s 13—but her mannerisms still force her to gobble down whatever she steals, so no one notices and we don’t take it from her,” Sam said.
Nina began choking, and Sam jumped into action, performing the Heimlich maneuver on her, which she’s done on dogs before, but panic set in as it did not work this time. She rushed the dog to the emergency vet, going 70 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone with her sister sitting in the back seat trying to loosen the food, Sam explained in an August 4 TikTok posted to her account, @wambamthanksam.
Thankfully, her sister managed to get Nina some breathing room, and when they arrived, the team cleared the rest of the airway. Sam said they took an X-ray to ensure all was clear, and Nina did not aspirate.
“At this point, we didn’t even know she stole her brother’s food until they came in and the pieces were larger than anything we’d ever give her,” Sam said. “I was terrified…She’s my little old lady, so I was devastated. Not ready to lose her, ever.”
The vet continued to examine Nina, and he discovered swollen lymph nodes. Sam took her back for a follow-up with her primary vet to test if the inflammation was from her previous gum disease, foot infection or possibly cancer. Until the results return, she’s hopeful this heartstopping experience could have at least caught a diagnosis early.
But what Nina did when they returned home left Sam cracking up, and the tension eased after the scary incident. The small dog stood tall, making herself look large and in charge. Nina looked straight into Sam’s soul, demanding food as if it hadn’t almost left her dead earlier in the day.
No choking scare or delayed feeding time would prevent this “foodie” from getting her meal.
“I cackled when we got home because that’s just her character,” Sam said. “We were carefully throwing her around in desperation, trying to get her to move air, and expected her to be sore. But she immediately began losing her mind and demanding food.”
With nearly half a million views on TikTok, people couldn’t help but laugh at Nina’s intensity when it came to food.
“I’m so happy she’s okay! Her stance at the end shows she’s SERIOUS,” wrote one viewer.
“Standing on true business!” another commenter wrote.
“My silky had the same exact stance when she got older. That was her ‘I’m going to get my way’ stance,” a third commenter said.
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