The Gagging Dog
On pp. 6-7 of Jan Harold Brunvand’s The Choking Doberman and Other “New” Urban Legends (1984, W.W. Norton & Company), he writes that “the earliest reliably dated complete American version” of the story he has found comes from the 24 June 1981 issue of Phoenix’s New Times (by Dewey Webb, though Brunvand doesn’t mention the byline): GAGGING DOG STORY BAFFLES POLICE It happened in Las Vegas. A woman returned from work and found her large dog, a Doberman, lying on the floor gasping for air. Concerned over the animal’s welfare, she immediately loaded the pet into her car and drove him to a veterinarian. ...