Iditarod Musher, Scott Janssen, Uses CPR To Save Dog

Scott Janssen and his fellow mushers may be the ones talking to the press at the end of the Iditarod but the true stars are the dogs. When Janssen’s 9-year-old husky collapsed while heading down a hill in Dalzell Gorge, Alaska, the Iditarod sophomore knew that there was only one thing that he could do.

Janssen said:

“Boom! Laid right down. It was like a guy my age having a heart attack… I know what death looks like, and he was gone. Nobody home.”

Janssen, who is mushing in his second Iditarod (he finished 42nd out of 47th last year) could have cut his dog Marshall loose in order to try and keep pace with the rest of the group, but Janssen couldn’t leave his dog dead in the snow.

Janssen said:

“I was sobbing… I really love that dog.”

The Post Game reports that Janssen stopped and gave the dog CPR. He was eventually able to revive Marshall. Janssen said:

“I had my mouth over his nose, breathing into his nose I was compressing and rubbing his chest, trying to work the air out. I’m like, ‘C’mon dude, please come back… and he did.”

Janssen put his dog in the sled and rode the rest of the way to the next checkpoint and brought him to the veterinarian. Janssen’s daughter, Chelsea said:

“The vets took a look. Gave Marshall an IV, and he’s heading home. He’s doing just fine. He’s still at the checkpoint and they’re flying him back home today.”