Dog prods man awake to rescue wife having a fit
A DOG saved the life of a woman having a seizure at night – by running into another room and prodding her husband awake.
Shelagh Shaw, 55, began choking on her tongue while asleep in bed.
Her giant leonberger Scooby was lying beside her and immediately recognised something was wrong.
It raised the alarm by bounding into an adjacent room where husband Ian, 57, was sleeping and began prodding him in the neck and face until he woke up.
Paramedics were called and saved Shelagh – but the drama last month sparked tests which have discovered two tumours on her brain.
NHS administrator Shelagh has had a biopsy and is hoping the tumours have been spotted early enough to be treated.
She said: “It is a massive shock. I am a bit devastated by it because it has happened so quickly – we are keeping everything crossed.”
Ian, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said after being woken by Scooby, he sprinted into the bedroom to find his wife of 14 years making a “horrible gurgling noise”. NHS van driver Ian added: “If the dog had not woken me, Shelagh might not be here today.
“When I woke up, Shelagh was making the most horrible noise I have heard in my life.
“It was a horrible, gurgling noise. It was a frightening experience. I got a bit tearful.
“When she came round, she did not know where she was. The dog is a hero. Scooby is a great gentle giant.”
Amazing
Shelagh was taken to Chesterfield Royal Hospital by paramedics and had an MRI scan.
She was then sent to Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, where medics found the tumours.
The couple have another leonberger called Jake.
Shelagh said: “It is amazing what dogs can sense – Scooby is still my absolute hero.
“They are a big breed of dog but they are so loving.”