When Comox resident Maureen Creed decided she wanted a dog after she retired, she turned to a friend who breeds border collies in Alberta and told her she wanted the runt of the litter.
It turns out she got one of the most intelligent dogs of that litter.
That’s because Creed and her husband Len credit their three-year-old dog purebred Rogan (which means redhead in Irish) for saving her mother’s life a little while ago when she fell not far from her home.
“Mom and Rogan have just an incredible bond,” explains Creed, who adopted Rogan when he was two months old.
Creed’s parents live next door to her and her husband. She generally doesn’t pay too much attention to Rogan’s barks at the front door due to kids and other dog walkers strolling by. On a recent Sunday evening, Creed said Rogan was at their front door doing “his big dog bark, but I kept dismissing him telling him it was just the neighbour.”
She noted hearing “little voices” outside, but again thought it was neighbourhood kids. She didn’t understand why kids would be playing outside as it was dark and eventually went to look outside as Rogan was insistent on barking.
That’s when she discovered her mom, 87, curled up on the sidewalk. She had tripped and fallen as she was walking to deliver a pie.
Her mother had fallen hard on her face, and with blood pooling everywhere, Creed rushed to call 9-1-1.
“I was figuring it would be the worst, but I know my mom is just so strong. She’s been through a lot.”
Following a few nights in hospital and stitches and bruises to her face, her mother is now resting next door at home. Creed credited Rogan for coming to her mother’s rescue.
“We all went to pick her up at the hospital – including the dog. As soon as we came home and she sat down in her chair, (Rogan) took her hands in his paws and then laid down on her feet. He goes over to visit her a few times a day; it just absolutely makes her day. He gives her gentle kisses on the face knowing she’s bruised.”
Creed said the two have an inexplicably strong bond, particularly as neither she nor her mother had dogs previously in their household.
As for Rogan, Creed admitted he “definitely received a treat” for his good work.
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