A quick-thinking doctor saved the life of his pet tortoise after it nearly drowned - by giving it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

一位反应快的医生用人工呼吸的急救方式救了他那只快淹死的宠物龟。

The eight-year-old reptile, Atlas, appeared to have drowned in his water bowl at Ben Waterfall's home in Swimbridge, Devon.

这位医生名叫Ben Waterfall，在位于英国德文郡的家里，他发现这只8岁的爬行动物Atlas差点淹死中水盆里。

The horrified family doctor saw the tortoise half submerged in the bowl and picked him up to find he was not breathing.

受到惊吓的医生发现这只乌龟一半都浸在了水盆里，急忙拿起来时已没了呼吸。

Dr Waterfall had been tending his garden when he had walked past Atlas's run and noticed that his pet was in serious trouble. He said: 'I saw his back feet sticking up out of the water. I pulled him out but he was not breathing and was completely floppy.

Waterfall医生当时正在修整花园，他经过Atlas的碗注意到他的宠物有大麻烦了。他说：“我看见它的后腿伸出了水面外。我把它从水里拉出来的时候，它已经没了呼吸，身体都瘫了下来。”

'I did six minutes of mouth-to-mouth before he slowly started breathing and blinking.' The doctor, who works at a GP's surgery in Barnstaple, North Devon, admitted: 'I was quite emotional at the time.

“我做了六分钟的嘴对嘴的呼吸，然后他渐渐回复了呼吸开始眨眼。” 这名在德文郡北部Barnstaple诊疗所工作的医生承认：“我当时很冲动。”

'I first started doing it and I had my mouth over his whole head, mouth, nose and nostrils. Then I changed it to sort of breathing into his nostrils. '

“一开始做的时候我吞进了他的整个头、嘴巴、鼻子还有鼻孔。随后我改变方法开始向它的鼻子吹气。”

'He has a run outdoors which had some water in a concrete container about ten inches long - the same width as his shell. He had just fallen in. He was essentially dead.'

“它在户外有一个大约10英尺长的喝水容器，和它的贝壳的宽度一样。它跌了进去，快死了。”

Dr Waterfall's wife Subhani had been putting the couple's two-year-old son Harry to bed when her husband saved the life of their pet. The doctor told his son that Atlas had 'been swimming' because the boy was too young to understand what was really going on.

当Waterfull医生救他宠物的时候，他的老婆Subhani正安抚他们两岁的儿子睡觉。医生告诉他的儿子说Atlas之前一直在游泳，因为他们的儿子还太小，没法理解。

He said: 'When my wife came downstairs she said that Atlas is supposed to outlive us. He is not supposed to die young at eight years old.' Tortoises generally have lifespans comparable with those of human beings, and some have lived for more than 150 years.

他说：“当我妻子下楼的时候，她说Atlas当时可能会离我们而去。它不应该在它只有8岁这么年轻的时候就死去。” 乌龟的年龄和人差不多，有的还能活到150岁。

The pet owner took Atlas to the vet to be checked out and he was given antibiotics in case he had any water in his lungs.

Waterfull医生带着Atlas去兽医院以便做进一步的检查，兽医也给了它开了一些抗生素以防肺里积水。

'The guys at work think it is hilarious,' added the doctor. 'There is a mixture of laughter and them kind of saying well done for giving it a go.'

“看病的兽医说人工呼吸的事实在很搞笑。” Waterfull医生补充道。“他们都在笑，但也认为这么做确实很有帮助。”