stories of dogs saving lives
ROSCOE
came into my life when he was just two
years old and he is still a boisterous dog. There had been several burglaries where I lived and I
didn't feel entirely safe living on my own.
I heard through friends that the loca] vet was trying to re-home a young Alsatian whose owners didn't want him any more, so I went along to see him.
I fell in love with Roscoe instantly and he seemed to adore me, too. Soon we were inseparable. Little did I know then, as Roscoe trotted behind me into the house, that he would be my guardian angel years later. He was to rescue me just as I had rescued him.
One morning I woke up with a severe headache. I didn't usually suffer from them but this was a blinding pain. After a few hours it subsided, but over the next few days I suffered more of them. I also became forgetful. I'd forget that I'd put my dinner in the oven or that I'd arranged to meet some people. But 1 took painkillers for the headaches
and when I told my mother, Doreen, how forgetful I'd become, we just I laughed it off.
Two weeks later, just when I was be~innlng to think I'd need to start
writing things down to improve my I memory, I was bringing Roscoe back
from his afternoon walk when I started to feel really strange.
My vision was blurred and by the time. I reached the house I was panicking as I didn't know what was wrong with me.
I put my hand out to open the gate and stumbled through. That was the last thing I remember.
As I lay unconscious on the path, it was unlikely that anyone passing would spot me. Luckily, Roscoe sensed something was wrong and jumped into action.
He lay down beside me, keeping me warm with his body heat, then he started barking and howling.
Luckily, my neighbour heard him I and discovered me unconscious. I With the help of another neighbour, I they got me mdoors and rang for an
ambulance.
I was taken to the University Hospital of Durham, then transferred to a specialist unit in Newcastle where scans showed I had suffered a severe brain haemorrhage. Surgeons operated for four hours. But even If I pulled through, there was a risk that I could lose my sight and hearing. It was terrible for my mother, who didn't know if she
would see me alive again. I My haemorrhage was a sudden
leak of blood, caused by a vessel ~
rupturing, over the layers of tissue ~
that cover my brain.
| home
