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Frantic Aysha Perry was sure she was about to die as she choked on a piece of chicken – until her dog transformed from pet to paw-ramedic.

Four-year-old Sheba dislodged the meat from Aysha’s throat by smacking her back with a gigantic paw.

When Aysha, 18, had started choking in her living room she was struggling to breathe and ended up on the floor as she helplessly tried to reach for her phone to call an ambulance.

But Sheba, a 5st Japanese Akita who had been sleeping in the kitchen, heard her owner in desperate trouble and bounded in to save the day.

Tattoo artist Aysha said: “She whacked me on the back with one of her huge front paws and the piece of chicken flew out.

“It hurt a little because she is such a massive dog but I can’t complain.

“Then she began licking my face to make sure I was OK. There’s no doubt she knew what she had done.

“She knew she had saved my life. I could tell by the way she looked and wouldn’t let me go.”

Aysha had been watching TV when the chicken got stuck in her throat as she ate her dinner.

Her flatmate was not at home at the time so there was nobody around to help. Thankfully, Sheba’s protective instincts kicked in – even though Aysha has only had her for two weeks.

Aysha, of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts, said: “I was at home on my own and I genuinely thought I was going to die.

“Akitas are quite an unpredictable breed and were used for bringing down bears. Sheba must have heard me choking and could obviously sense I was in distress.

“I was on the floor trying to get to my phone when she came running in. It’s a good job she has such big paws otherwise I don’t think she would have dislodged the chicken.”

The grateful owner has already been able to repay her debt in a small way – by rescuing Sheba when one of those huge paws was stuck in a fence.

Aysha said: “I don’t think we are quite even yet but we definitely have a special relationship.

“I think that she deserves recognition for saving me because it was a very heroic act.

“I don’t know anyone else whose dog would do something like that.”

*** Dogs learn to copy the yawns of their owners, researchers revealed yesterday.

Scientists in Sweden concluded that hounds “catch” yawns from the age of seven months because they start understanding how people are feeling.