But an Australian man with a long beard and a Harley Davidson, who happen to be passing by, had other ideas.

As soon as he saw the accident, Steve Hunter, from Ballarat, carried the Terrier-Jack Russell mix to the side of the road where he, in his words, “did the deed”.  

“I gave him CPR, did the whole works. I pulled his jaws apart—and by the way, he didn’t brush his teeth,” the bearded biker told The Courier.

 “I pulled them apart, I got as close as I could and I was blowing air in his throat and with one hand giving him CPR on his ribcage.

“I thought ‘you’ve gotta give him half a chance’, because you never know.”

Like a car getting a jump, Salty sparked back to life long enough for the trip to the appropriately named Eureka Veterinary Hospital where surgical veterinarian Albert Lim treated his cuts and a fractured pelvis.

“They’re resilient little buggers, if you give them a chance they’ll kick in,” Mr Hunter said of Salty’s recovery. “They’re tougher than a human that way.”

The Maule family, including eight-year-old Archie and five-year-old Jamie, are thrilled to see their four-legged pal back on his paws. If not for Mr Hunter’s unlikely intervention, Mr Maule was going to have to break the bad news to his two young kids.

“When I saw him lying there I thought he was gone,” Mr Maule recounted of the heartbreaking moments many pet-owners unfortunately face.

He told Mr Hunter: “Mate, you’re a friggin’ hero.”  

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