Dogs save life of owner who slipped and broke his neck while out walking them

A man who slipped and broke his neck while walking his dogs was kept alive overnight after his two pets cuddled up to him to keep him warm. Father-of-two Michael Dyer, 66, fell down a 30ft slope at a remote beauty spot as he exercised Jack Russells, Mickey, three and Boz, five.

He fractured an elbow and broke his neck in the fall and lay unconscious in temperatures as low as 7C (44F). But amazingly, Mr Dyer survived after his two dedicated dogs snuggled up to him for 16 hours and helped stave off hypothermia.

They stayed with him all through the night as he slipped in and out of consciousness and thereby kept his core temperature high to ensure his survival. The retired lorry driver says at one point he let them off their leads to get help but they refused to leave him.



Mr Dyer was spotted at 9.30am on Friday at Fishcombe Cove in Brixham, Devon, by another walker who thought he had stumbled across a body and called emergency services. Emergency services airlifted Mr Dyer to hospital where he underwent surgery but is expected to make a full recovering.

Sgt Jacqui Rees, who attended the scene, said his dogs had saved his life.
She said: 'The man was not as cold as we expected after lying there all night. 'The dogs, who were still with him when we arrived, had cuddled up to him and kept him warm.

'He was very lucky. Once we arrived the shock of what happened started to affect him and he did get quite cold quite quickly.'