It’s a wet, windy day here in Ireland and I thought you might like to hear a story. This one is true. It’s about a dog who saved his owner’s life.

The reason I know it’s true is because the old man who was rescued by his dog lay in a bed in hospital across the ward from someone I know. This happened years ago but I have never forgotten it.

An elderly farmer owned a Border collie, a sheep dog breed popular in this country. One morning he heard mewing near his hay shed and discovered that one of the cats had given birth to kittens. But there was a serious problem. The cat and kittens were trapped between a stack of round hay bales and couldn’t get out.

As he was a kind-hearted man, he decided to climb down and try to help. He lost his balance and fell down the gap between the bales, past the ledge where the cat was and down to the bottom where there was little air to breathe. He called for help but no person heard him as the farm yard was remote. He was in severe pain because he had broken his hip.

Time passed and the old man grew weaker and more desperate. His Collie dog lay patiently beside the hay shed, waiting for his owner to resurface. After a while, the dog reckoned something was wrong and ran down the hill to another house where he barked incessantly outside the door. At first the inhabitants ignored him but every time they attempted to chase him off, the dog returned and barked again. Someone recognised him and wondered where his owner was. The dog led this person to the yard where he found the old man and sent for an ambulance. 

A hero dog. He saved his owner’s life.