Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MY LITTLE K999 HERO
Puppy praised for loo rescue
HE is only nine inches tall but this little dog leapt into action to save his collapsed owner.
As Michelle Troughton-webb, 43, lay in agony on the floor of a disabled toilet, year-old Jaden knew exactly what to do.
He yanked the emergency cord and sounded the alarm – just the way his owner had taught him.
Moments later an ambulance was dispatched to help Michelle and ferry her to hospital.
Back at home, she said: “Jaden is amazing. He is my hero.”
Mum-of-three Michelle has spinal problems and uses an electric wheelchair and crutches. Her condition means she loses her footing and collapses in pain.
Michelle had travelled to Blackpool with her Rock Choir group last month to meet up with hundreds of choristers for the Big Sing event.
When she went to use the loo with Jaden at the Tower Ballroom she fell and her back went into spasm. She was in too much pain to cry for help. She said: “He went straight to the cord. Thankfully somebody opened the door.”
Michelle, a widow from Ilkley, West Yorks, began training her Shih Tzu Lhasa Apso cross to be an “assistance dog” after spotting his potential.
She said: “My daughter bought him for me to keep me company.
“I started noticing that, if I fell, he’d sit by my head and bark. He can also pick things up at home but it is a work in progress.
“He will bring me my mail, although we don’t always get it intact, but he is still only a puppy.”