James, a former L.A. lifeguard, helped pioneer the Red Cross's pet CPR classes, which are now taught in more than 100 U.S. cities. Since early 1996 he has taught hundreds of pet lovers in the Los Angeles area how to Heimlich their hounds and even give mouth-to-snout resuscitation. Most of the attendees are women—"given the nurturing nature of women," says James, "that's not surprising. They raise the kids and apparently they are raising the dogs too." His customers, who pay $25 a session, are serious about their pets. "I don't have children, so they are basically my children," says sheriff's deputy Freddi Davis about her whippet-poodle mix. "I wouldn't hesitate to blow into my dog's nose." Demonstrating can be tricky with live subjects, however. As James tries CPR on a chow-sheltie named Jerry, he breaks off in mock horror: "That dog tried to slip me the tongue!"
James, 46, can't have any dogs at home—his wife, Sherrie, a dietitian, is terrified of them—but he does have two sons. "Having teenage boys," he reasons, "is a lot like having animals." And his modest apartment in South Pasadena isn't completely pet-free: "I have two plastic fish in an aquarium. That way they don't die on me."
James acknowledges that it takes a special person to wrap his or her lips around the mouth of an animal known for slurping out of the toilet. "I once made the comment," he says, "that you never know where a dog's mouth has been. The real problem is that sometimes you do know."
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