A chihuahua cross has been praised for pressing a medical device, alerting paramedics to her 90-year-old owner struggling to breathe.
Minnie doesn’t usually like being held but on Friday, December 1, after noticing her owner Joyce Gibbs struggling to breathe at her home in Kingston, in the state’s southeast the pooch did the unexpected.
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The small dog, who was not trained to do so, pressed Joyce’s medical alert device that she wears around her neck, which then sent out an SOS message for emergency services to respond.
“Minnie never jumps up in that chair when mum is in it … Minnie knew she needed help, so she jumped up, trying to help her,” Lyn Gibbs, who is Joyce’s daughter, said.
“Whether Minnie knew what to do, whether it was an accident (who knows) … it was a good accident … she saved mum’s life … she’s our little hero.”
In hospital, doctors said Joyce had Rhinovirus which could take her up to three weeks to recover from, but after four days in hospital she has been able to return home.
Lyn said since her mother returned from hospital, her four-legged companion had not left her side.
“Minnie’s been so good from the day I got her … she’s the best dog … she doesn’t leave her side,” Lyn said.
The close call has also served as a reminder for Joyce to always wear her medical alert device, Lyn said.
“The medical alert is just so important for old people, and this is why I’m talking to you because a lot of them (elderly) won’t wear them,” she said.
“They put them on the cupboard or on the table, but you really need them at all times, especially in the shower.”
