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Hero hearing dog Chance rescues collapsed woman
They only stayed overnight by chance but Chance the hero hearing dog rescued a woman who had collapsed.
June Battye, British Sign Language teacher here at Seashell Trust, was visiting friends Joan Proctor and her husband Stephen in Congleton.
June, who is deaf, was accompanied by her hearing dog Chance, a six-year-old black miniature poodle.
She said: “Chance helps me by hearing sounds I can't hear when my hearing aids are out - like the doorbell, the telephone, smoke alarm or the alarm clock. At work he lets me know if people enter the building, especially at night when I may be the only one here. I hear nothing but Chance lets me know by coming to me and nudging me on my thigh then going to the door of my classroom.”
She hadn't planned to stay over at her friends' house but at the last minute June changed her mind.
June said: “At about 3.30am Chance woke me up, which he doesn't normally do. He is trained to jump onto the bed and paw at the covers. He was pacing the room so I followed him downstairs to find Joan collapsed on the floor.”
Joan said: “I tripped and fell to the floor, hitting my shoulder and head on the wall. I could not get up because my shoulder felt dislocated. I shouted my husband but could not get an answer.
“I then shouted Chance and, after a few minutes, I heard him tearing down the stairs and coming in to me giving me a big lick.”
June added: “She had been shouting for ten minutes but her husband Stephen hadn’t heard her as their room was the other side of the house.
“Stephen and I tried to lift her but she was scared to put weight on her shoulder as her right one is damaged from a fall last year and she felt the other one was not right.”
Paramedics were called who checked Joan over and found she had bruising and mild concussion but fortunately found no serious injuries.
June added: “I was going to go home but it seems we were meant to stay!”
A very relieved Joan said: “I was very lucky to have a trained hearing dog in the house otherwise I could have been lying there all night.”
