Pets really are part of the family. This is the tale of one amazing puppy who came to the rescue when her owner needed her most. Her owner would never have believed, that the reason she is alive today, is because of her heroic dog. This story is truly mesmerizing.
Keola the dog
Keola is an American Akita who lives in South Yorkshire with her owners, Alhanna and Ricky Butler. Keola made a lovely new addition to the family, and they loved as her their own child, until one day they learnt they were expecting another new arrival.
American Akita
An American Akita, is a breed of dogs that originates from Japan. The dogs were originally bred for deer and bear hunting but now are most often kept as pets. Akitas are well known for their dominant characters. This is doubly true in Keola’s case, as was made evident when she insisted on warning her owner against impending danger…
Animal instincts
Dogs definitely have a sixth sense when things are not right. Has your dog ever come to comfort you when you are sad? Well, even with all of the excitement around her for the new baby coming, Keola could sense that something was not right with her owner, Alhanna. Her natural instincts were kicking in, and she began to act quite wary, which her owners were confused about.
A sixth sense
Keola was acting out of the ordinary, as if sensing that some sort of danger was ahead, but they couldn’t figure out what it was. With every passing day, she was acting less and less like herself, and even though they were extremely busy trying to get the baby’s room ready for the arrival day, they couldn’t help but worry about what was going on with their beloved puppy.
Prenatal care
Mothers-to-be must ensure that they take the necessary steps in order that their baby will be as healthy as possible. This means taking pre-natal vitamins, exercising and of course eating healthy. Alhanna was taking every necessary precaution. However, as she was so focused on the health of her baby and monitored the progression of her pregnancy (and growing baby bump), she did not notice her own health was rapidly getting worse.
Expecting mothers
Becoming a new parent is a big and life changing responsibility, which is extremely daunting for many couples. That is why if something is not going right during a mother’s first pregnancy, it can cause a lot of anxiety and stress. This needs to be closely monitored, and in Alhanna’s case this was true.
Back pains
Alhanna’s pregnancy appeared to be going smoothly, except for a slight pain in her lower back. As the days went on, her pain was getting worse until she reached out to a doctor for help. She discussed the problem, however, the doctor did not think much of it and told her that it was just part of the pregnancy. When Alhanna returned home though, she started to think that the pain might be related to something else.
Pregnancy pains
During pregnancy, the body produces a hormone called relaxin. This hormone allows the pelvis and the ligaments to relax and prepares the body gently for childbirth. While this hormone is absolutely necessary for labor, it can cause the spine to relax and loosen too much, which then causes back strain. This is why the doctor thought that her pain was simply related to the pregnancy.
Sensing something
Alhanna wrote off the pain as simply a symptom of pregnancy, but her pet dog, Keola, was still acting odd, potentially sensing that something was not right. It seems that the dog could “smell,” that something was wrong with Alhanna’s body, and that she needed to make her owner notice this. Eventually it became clear to both Alhanna and her husband that something was out of the ordinary with Keola.
Doctor’s orders
Alhanna said that when she got back from the doctors office, Keola “just sat staring at me so intently that it really scared me.” Alhanna did not know it then, but this odd behavior would be the reason that her life was saved.
Worried friends
Alhanna noted that after Keola began staring at her intently, she thought it was strange and even posted a picture about it on social media, jokingly writing on Facebook about the film Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, in which a dog does something similar. While Alhanna thought this was just a simple joke, her friends began commenting that she should take the matter seriously. Would this finally make her act?
Getting nosey
After a couple of days, Keola began to whine more and more, until it was unbearable not to do something about it, and her odd behavior would not stop. Alhanna admitted later that Keola was the only one who knew the extent of her health problems. Not even the doctors could have predicted what would happen next…
Crying for Alhanna
Alhanna explained that Keola would cry and nudge her in order to get her attention. Yet Alhanna could not understand why her dog was doing this. Alhanna’s husband Ricky began to notice that whenever she went to work, Keola would get distraught and start howling. Before Alhanna getting pregnant, Keola had never done this, so why now? It was obvious to the couple that Keola was distressed, however, they still could not pinpoint why.
Intensive care
Alhanna knew her dog, and could not ignore Keola’s behavior, it had been too long now, she knew she had to take action. She did not think anything of the visit and was just checking in to make sure everything was alright with her baby. However, in an instant, Alhana was sent to the intensive care unit. It was then revealed that the expecting mother was only moments away from death.
A kidney infection
While Alhanna and even the doctors did not relate her back pain to anything serious, Keola knew that something was very wrong. At the hospital, doctors finally discovered that Alhanna had a serious infection in both of her kidneys. It was an extremely rare occurrence, and because it had taken a while for Alhanna to listen to her dog and discover the problem, her condition had rapidly become life threatening. Her prognosis was not looking promising…
Untreated and getting worse
Due to the fact that the infection had gone unnoticed for such a long time, it was one of the worse cases Alhanna’s doctors had ever seen. The team at the hospital were doing everything they could, but it seemed now that the infection was resistant to antibiotics. According to doctors, this kind of infection “had only ever affected one other person in the U.K.” The doctors were running out of time as both Alhanna and her unborn baby’s lives were in danger.
Alhanna’s baby in great danger
Not only was Alhanna’s life endangered but her unborn child was at great risk, too. She later recalled in regards to the infection, “It was killing me and the doctors told me that if I had left it any longer I would have died and more than likely”. It was greatly upsetting to her husband that they had dismissed it from the start, he was beside himself.
Saving 2 lives
Thankfully, the doctors were able to cure the infection and Alhanna was able to carry her pregnancy to term. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Had it not been for Keola’s sixth sense and continuously trying to warn her owners, Alhanna and her son may not be here today. So how did the family repay their furry family member for her actions?
Guardian angel
Alhanna felt like she owed Keola her own life and the life of her son. And so, in addition to giving Keola lots of affection and doggy treats, Alhanna and Ricky named her their son’s guardian angel. They named the baby boy Lincoln and from the pictures posted to Alhanna’s Facebook page, it is clear that Keola guards this baby with her life.
Puppy love
This heart warming story is just one example of why dogs make such loving and loyal pets. Had it not been for Keola’s animal instinct, who knows what would have happened to Alhanna? We hope that Lincoln and Keola will be best friends and that Lincoln will always be thankful for what his dog did.