The flight crew on a recent JetBlue flight is being credited with the saving the life of a bulldog that was having trouble breathing. Steven and Michelle Burt were flying home to Boston along with their French bulldog Darcy after a vacation in Florida when Michele noticed that Darcy's tongue had turned blue, which she knew was a "sign of insufficient oxygen."
Two members of the flight crew saw what was going on and quickly jumped in to help. First, they grabbed some ice hoping to cool the dog down, but when that failed they had to try something else. Crew member Renaud Fenster explained to Good Morning America that he also owns a French bulldog, and knew that the dog needed oxygen, so he got permission from the captain and brought over an oxygen tank and helped put a mask over the dog.
"I was passing through the cabin to check up on a passenger, and I noticed [another] passenger, who had the dog out of her crate and the dog had an indication that it wasn't looking too well. ... And I believe the dog passed out," Fenster told "GMA." "The dog started panting very rapidly and uncontrollably, and so as a French bulldog owner myself, I knew the dog was overheating and needed some ice. I brought the dog some ice, and that didn't do anything.
"I decided that we needed to consider using oxygen to support the animal," he continued. "So I called the captain, and I told him, 'I think I need to use some oxygen,' and he said, 'Go ahead.' And right then and there, placed the oxygen on the dog and the dog revived like nothing else."
Michelle said that the quick-thinking crew members saved Darcy's life.
"I placed the mask over her face, and within a few minutes she became alert and after a short time she didn’t want the mask," Michelle explained. "I believe [crew members] Renaud and Diane saved a life, some may reduce the value of the life because Darcy is a canine. I do not."