A golden retriever is being lauded as “the first responder” who helped saved her owner’s life when he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of the night.
Hannah Cooke, from County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, was woken up one night last year by a bark from Polly, she and her husband’s four-year-old dog, who the couple said normally sleeps quietly through the night.
When she turned to her husband sleeping next to her, Hannah found him breathing irregularly, and then he stopped breathing entirely, according to the British Heart Foundation, which told the couple’s story ahead of a ceremony on Tuesday that will see both Hannah and Polly crowned “CPR Heroes” for their actions.
Golden retriever Polly from Fermanagh helped save her owner Adam’s life when he had a cardiac arrest asleep in bed in 2024. / Credit: British Heart Foundation
“When I heard the noise Adam was making I sat bolt upright in bed, as I previously worked as a carer and it hit me that it was the same noise I’ve heard when people are taking their final breaths,” said Hannah, 33.
She immediately sprang into action, calling an ambulance and performing CPR on her husband until paramedics arrived to whisk him to the hospital. On the way, they shocked Adam seven times with a defibrillator before his heart rate normalized.
Adam woke up at the hospital six days later and learned that he had been diagnosed with a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy, which prevents the heart from pumping blood around the body effectively.
After weeks of recovery and a procedure to have a Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator put in his chest, Adam was finally allowed to go home — where he was reunited with Polly.
Polly’s barking woke Adam’s wife Hannah who performed life-saving CPR and contacted the emergency services / Credit: British Heart Foundation
“When I got out of hospital, I’ll never forget seeing Polly again and knowing how she had intervened that night. I just cuddled her and cried for 20 minutes,” Adam said.
The couple credit Polly with having saved Adam’s life by being “in tune” with him, and they believe she even knew what was happening.
“Polly alerted me, possibly within seconds of Adam’s cardiac arrest, she was the first responder,” Hannah told the BHF, a charity that raises awareness of cardiovascular disease and money to fund research into treatments and cures. “Because of her, I was able to start CPR almost immediately.”
Hannah and Polly were set to receive their honors as “CPR Heroes” at the BHF’s Heart Hero Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday evening.
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