[Michele]

POLICE POOCH A SURVIVOR
By CYNTHIA R. FAGEN


BLAZE
Saved by pacemaker.




July 24, 2007 -- A beloved 4-year-old German shepherd police dog who collapsed on the job at Rikers Island after his heart suddenly stopped is miraculously back on the beat after doctors implanted a lifesaving pacemaker made for humans.
"He means everything to me. He's like my son," said grateful city Correction Capt. Efrain Madera of his partner, Blaze.
Madera has faced down violent inmates and quelled jail-yard riots with his loyal four-pawed buddy at his side, so when Blaze keeled over stiff as a brick and went into shock five months ago, he feared the worst.
"His heart stopped beating for six seconds. It happened several times. He would just stare up at me," recalled Madera, a 20-year veteran who heads the Correction Emergency Services Unit. After tests at the renowned Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side showed an uncommon genetic condition that stops the heart from pumping blood there was only one way to save the heroic dog's life: implant a pacemaker that zaps the heart with electrical impulses.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07242007...a_r__fagen.htm

[Purple]

Wow! Amazing!