A 14-week-old puppy has been hailed a hero after sounding the alarm when a family dog fell into a hot tub. Harley, a French bulldog, was lounging on top of the hot tub when the lid gave way, plunging him into the hot water.
But thankfully, cockapoo puppy Lottie heard the commotion and was able to alert her owner's daughter, Eva, to what was happening. Owner Stephen and his wife Marian, from Ballynahinch, in Northern Ireland, were returning from an anniversary break in Amsterdam when the incident occurred.
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"We got a phone call from our daughter that wee Harley had fallen into the hot tub and nearly died," he told Belfast Live.
"Of course we were shocked at this point and then I realised I hadn't strapped it down on both sides, but I had put a zipped fly net around it.
"I was wondering how they got in and I said to my wife that we could watch it on our CCTV and we could actually watch it from the airport."
It was only when they were able to watch the footage back that they realised just how Harley had ended up in trouble.
"So we went on and could see the recording and we noticed Harley was being brave - normally he wouldn't go near that but he was following our other wee pup Lottie and you can see he's lying and lounging on it.
"But with her weight she sent Harley down into the water when the lid gave way.
"She then starts to panic and you can see it in the video - she runs over to him, falls herself, climbs up and you can see her thinking how she can help him.
"She ran to the back door and started barking and crying to get in and that was the key to saving him because if she hadn't done that, my daughter Eva wouldn't have known to come out and noticed that he was in there.
"He was in there for about two and a half minutes which is quite a long time to be treading water when you're a heavy wee French bulldog."
Stephen says the dogs are like members of the family and they are really thankful that Lottie reacted the way she did.
"Lottie is the hero of the day, unbelievable really for her to be so young and just react like that.
"That surprised us the most, her reaction, the fear, she knew he was in danger.
"The only thing she could do was to go to the door and yelp which she doesn't really do normally.
"Harley is mine and he arrived on my 50th birthday and he would be my wee mate so if anything happened to him, that would really have been hard for me."
Stephen said he hopes that other owners who have similar items outside their house will also be inspired to take an extra check on ensuring they're safe for their pets to be around.
"We're just so lucky to have him here, he's lucky he's alive.
"It is a warning and we just want to say to other owners as well that it can happen so easily - just to make sure all the straps are definitely on and all that.
"I've learned my lesson certainly."
Luckily, all's well that ends well and Harley will certainly be grateful for Lottie's quick reactions.
Has you dog saved a person or animal's life? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
