Hero dog hails help after deaf owner injured

A dog has been commended for its quick-wittedness after hailing the attention of a passer-by to help his deaf owner after she was injured when she fell on black ice.

Sue Davis, from Wolverhampton, who is profoundly deaf, was unable to get up after slipping while taking her hearing dog Arlo, a black cocker spaniel, out for a walk.

Arlo rushed to her side and laid across her body until someone walked by then began barking and howling until help arrived.

"If it hadn't been for Arlo, I don't know what I'd have done there was no one else around, so I would've had to crawl to get help," 67-year-old Davis said.

A woman who was passing through a nearby alleyway heard Arlo's cries and came to assist, but was unable to lift the dog's owner by herself, but was soon helped by a man who passed by moments later.

Davis, who is on blood thinners after suffering heart failure, sustained bad bruising in the fall and was taken home.

She recalled: "We were only about two minutes from my house when I put my left foot out and that was it - I went down with a bang.

"I felt dizzy and light-headed and I couldn't get up. I just started crying and he knew something was wrong."

Davis lost her hearing while in her early 40s, and had found living alone challenging.

However, life greatly improved when the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity paired her with Arlo in 2021.

"He's my comfort blanket, I know I'm safe with him," the pensioner added.

"Having Arlo is the best thing that's ever happened to me, he loves me unconditionally, and I love him unconditionally. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

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