Babysitting parrot saves choking toddler’s life
Pollywanna be a hero?
It’s not every parrot that can brag to his feathered friends that he’s helped saved a human life.
This improbable scenario actually happened in Denver, and the valiant pet bird now has an “Animal Lifesaver Award” from the Red Cross to prove it, according to the Associated Press. The really wild kicker: the bird didn’t even live with the child. Yes, Willie was just babysitting.
Here’s how the heroics went down: One morning in November, Willie and his owner, Megan Howard, were taking care of the toddler during breakfast. While Howard went to the bathroom, the child started to choke on her food. Willie squawked: “Mama, baby,” over and over to sound the alarm.
While Howard saved the child by performing the Heimlich maneuver, she called Willie “the real hero.” The quick-thinking bird received his award at a “Breakfast of Champions” Red Cross event in Denver on Friday, which was attended by luminaries that included the state’s governor and the city’s mayor.
But did anyone at the event think to offer Willie a cracker?
Every baby sitter should learn the maneuver that can save someone
from choking. I have forgotten the name of the maneuver.
The picture and caution above are wonderful.