Rescue dog saves the life of stricken pensioner
A RESCUE dog has been hailed a hero after saving the life of a hypothermic pensioner who collapsed on a deserted Highland moor.
As Edna Johnston was in hospital recovering from her ordeal yesterday, nine-yearold cross-spaniel William, who raised the alarm to save her, was back at his day job as the resident pet at Invernevis care home in Fort William.
Care home mini bus driver, David Stafford, said William – who was rescued from death row in a Cyprus killing shelter – began barking on his morning walk on the Blar Mhor and had his tail between his legs, leading him to an elderly woman on her hands and knees. He said: “She couldn’t get up, she was hypothermic, shivering cold.
“The woman could have lain there for hours because nobody really goes that way. It was the dog barking, he alerted me, he is a good dog.”
He added that the woman’s relatives have made a generous donation for food and treatment for William. Margaret Ryan, from Banavie, said: “My sister is an elderly lady who lives locally. She had collapsed and was hypothermic when William found her. We don’t know how long she had been there, she doesn’t know.
“But she is now in the Belford Hospital where she is very comfortable. She has a sore arm but she is making a good recovery in hospital. She was very, very lucky, thanks to William.”
Lucille Brook, a social care worker at Invernevis, who has played a key part in looking after William, told how the local community love the dog so much that they raised £8,000 last year to pay for a hip replacement for him.