Yorkshire Terrier pressed panic alarm after owner collapsed in the shower

A dog saved his owner after pressing the panic alarm to summon help when his owner collapsed. Disabled Victoria Shaw, 58, had trained Louis, her Yorkshire terrier, to call for assistance. "He's just a pet but I've been training him to hit the button just in case," said Mrs Shaw, from Wrexham, north Wales, "But it's always been just a bit of a game. This is the first time he's done it for real."

"I had been in the shower and I was just coming out when my slipper got caught under the rug and I tripped. I hit my back and my shoulder and felt my leg going underneath me and heard a crack - I thought I'd broken my knee, but I hadn't. I broke my glasses, and I can't see anything without them. I can't remember hitting my head but I came round with my leg twisted under me and I could hear a voice." Due to her disability Mrs Shaw is registered with Wrexham Council's Telecare service, meaning she has emergency panic-buttons in her home if she gets into difficulty.



She had previously put one of these on the floor and had trained Louis, nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier, to press it. It was Louis' barking that ChesterCare Telecare operative Sarah Mcloughlin was greeted with when she asked Mrs Shaw if she was okay. Mrs Shaw said: "She asked 'who raised the alarm?' and I said it must have been Louis. He must have thought 'this is not a game this is for real', and hit the panic button. He was right beside me, right in my face - he wouldn't leave me." An ambulance was called to get Mrs Shaw back on her feet and she was left with a headache and dizziness, and trouble bending her leg, but nothing more serious.

Sarah Mcloughlin, a support and finance administrator with ChesterCare, said: "It's great news that Louis was there to support Mrs Shaw and that Louis had been trained to raise the alarm. When I got though to Mrs Shaw, I called the paramedics and stayed on the line to reassure her until they arrived. Louis was a great asset to Mrs Shaw in this incident and together we were able to assist her during this vulnerable time." Mrs Shaw said: "I'm no dog trainer but I just got to work on him. "He's not only my best friend and companion, but my soul mate. I can't bear to be without him because of the things that he does for me."