Biting puppy helps save baby's life

A puppy helped save a baby suffering from meningitis when it bit her toe and she failed to respond. Amber-Rose Byland's family noticed their 13-month-old girl was not her normal self but it was not until the dog nipped her toe that they realised something was seriously wrong.

When she failed to react, her family rushed her to hospital and within hours, she had developed a lump the size of a golf ball on her head and was unresponsive. As a group of doctors rushed to treat her, they told the family, who live in Broughton, their quick response had saved Amber-Rose's life.



Her grandmother, Angela Priest, who lives with Amber-Rose's parents Kristie and Ricky, said: "When the dog bit Amber's toe, she didn't move or cry and I just thought, that's not right. We shouted her name but she didn't react. She wasn't sleepy, she just wasn't as responsive as normal.

"Doctors said another 12 hours and she would have been lucky to have survived. The nurses praised us for acting so quickly on our instincts." Tests revealed that Amber-Rose had the worst strain of bacterial meningitis.