Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Bonnie Lassie
Stranded pensioner’s collie runs off to get help like hero TV dog
A HEROIC border collie didn’t paws for a moment when her owner got stranded in thick woods – and ran to get help like a real-life Lassie.
Val Smith, 75, was taking Bonnie and her other dog Snoopy for a walk when she lost her way and ended up overwhelmed by dense brambles in an isolated area.
Stressed and disorientated, Val didn’t know what to do. But faithful Bonnie dashed off to find assistance and eventually came across two teachers who were out walking.
They followed the eight-year-old dog down several winding paths in Widey Woods, Plymouth, before finding Val.
Val, of Plymouth, said she panicked when
Bonnie raced off out of sight while Snoopy circled her in distress.
She said: “I thought,
‘oh God, someone will pinch her.’ But then after a while I heard voices. I tried to break away at the branches that were all tied up around me.
“They said they saw a collie run along towards them on its own, and that they thought it was strange.
“She was beckoning for them to come with her. So they followed her for 500 yards or so and then they heard this cracking noise and could hear me through the brambles.
“They then got me out, took me home and gave me a nice cup of tea and some biscuits.”
Val never thought to ask the names of the local primary school teachers who saved her, but would love to track them down again.
She said of Bonnie: “I feel that she loves me. She didn’t just run off anywhere and sit down; she went to get someone quite far away.”