Andrew Klein and his crew spent 20 minutes performing CPR and supplying oxygen through a pet oxygen mask.

Dog’s owner ‘overwhelmed’ by heroic efforts

US firefighters are being praised for their heroic efforts to save a 10-year-old dog, pulling him from a blazing apartment and performing ‘mouth-to-snout’ resuscitation for 20 minutes.

Firefighter Andrew Klein reportedly crawled into the apartment in Santa Monica on all fours, finding the unresponsive dog Nalu in a back bedroom. Overcome by heat and smoke the dog was not breathing and had no pulse.

“He was totally lifeless,” Mr Klein told the Associated Press news agency. “I picked him up and ran out of the apartment because time is key, especially with a small dog… Failure was not an option.”

Mr Klein and the crew spent 20 minutes performing CPR, mouth-to-snout resuscitation and supplying oxygen through a pet oxygen mask, which is part of the standard equipment carried by the Santa Monica Fire Department.

After 20 minutes, Nalu was breathing by himself, had regained consciousness and was even able to walk around. Nalu has now recovered after spending 24 hours in an oxygen tent.

Nalu’s owner Crystal Lamirande, a radiology nurse, was overwhelmed by the efforts of Mr Klein and his team.

“His eyes were glazed over and he was not breathing and I assumed he was dead,” she told AP news agency. “But the firefighter said ‘I’m a positive person. Let’s just get him back’.”

Image © Billy Fernando/Santa Monica Fire Department