DOG BROUGHT BACK FROM DEAD BY SKILLFUL HANDS; CANINE LUCKY TO HAVE PARAMEDICS IN HOUSE.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

A Los Angeles fire chief and his paramedic son used their knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation over the weekend to bring their dog back to life after it had choked to death on a ball.

Deputy Fire Chief Alan Cowen was at home with his wife, Dolly, and children Kate and Robby when their 3-year-old Dalmatian, Abby, accidentally swallowed the ball Saturday.

``She was choking. I could feel the ball way down in the bottom of her neck,'' Alan Cowen said. ``I thought we might lose her. How do you do a Heimlich maneuver on a dog?''

Seconds later, he said Abby ``fell over dead.'' She had no heartbeat, she was not breathing and her eyes were dilated.

``Suddenly all her muscles relaxed. At that point there was no tension to prevent me from reaching in and no fear of the dog biting me,'' Cowen said.

``I reached my hand down the dog's throat to my elbow,'' he said. ``I could feel the ball. I grabbed it and yanked it out.''

But the drama was far from over.

``Once I got the ball out I thought she would start breathing right away, but she just lay there motionless,'' Cowan said.

Acting quickly, 19-year-old Robby Cowen who had just completed paramedic training, grabbed Abby by the muzzle and began blowing into her mouth.

Ten minutes later, Abby was breathing on her own.

``It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen,'' said Alan Cowen, who has witnessed about 50 people revived from states of clinical death in his 31 years as a firefighter.

Even though it was just a dog this time, ``It was one of the most emotional 30 minutes of my life,'' he said.

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PHOTO Los Angeles Fire Chief Alan Cowen holds the ball his dog, Abby, swallowed and died from, before being resuscitated.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News