Sabrina

SAINT-LAURENT, QUÉBEC

Sabrina, a 12-year-old Whippet’s, loyalty and aptitude was put to the ultimate test when her owner Adele Schwartz had a horrific, almost fatal fall in the middle of the night.

It was 2a.m. one dark September morning, when Adele awoke to use the bathroom. She unfortunately took a wrong turn and tumbled down the basement stairs, hitting her head and instantly falling unconscious. Being a deep sleeper, Adele’s husband Bill didn’t hear a thing until Sabrina woke him by causing a commotion – nudging him repeatedly and pulling the comforter off their bed.

Typically, a calm and quiet dog, Bill was alarmed by Sabrina’s uncharacteristic behaviour and, after realizing Adele was no longer lying beside him, got out of bed to investigate what had happened. Sabrina led Bill to find Adele’s motionless body at the bottom of the stairs. Incredibly frightened and worried, Bill immediately called an ambulance.

Due to the fall, Adele had a fractured vertebra in her neck, a compression fracture in her back and her head had split open, causing a severe concussion that left her unconscious for three days. Adele stayed 10 more days in the hospital and several more months recovering.

Today, Adele says she owes her life to Sabrina. Had Sabrina not acted so quickly, Adele likely wouldn’t have survived the fall or suffered permanent brain damage.