Dog saves life of dying 9-week-old baby

A dog has repaid the couple who rescued him from a shelter six years ago by rousing them in the night to let them know their baby had stopped breathing.

Duke is being credited with saving the life of nine-week-old baby Harper after he dashed into her parents' bedroom, in Portland, Connecticut, when he noticed that something was wrong on Sunday night.

The dog, which was taken in by the Brousseau family six years ago, jumped on the couple's bed and began shaking uncontrollably, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

His movements woke the couple and the unusual behaviour gave them cause for concern.

When they went into Harper's room to check on her, they found she had stopped breathing.

Jenna's husband immediately called an ambulance and Harper was revived by paramedics, before being taken to the hospital.

Harper's mother Jenna Brousseau told WFSB News: 'He is insanely obedient, so this was extremely bizarre.

'If Duke hadn't been so scared, we would have just gone to sleep,' Jenna said of her heroic dog.

She added, 'He's the perfect dog, he was meant to be ours.'

Doctors are not sure what caused Harper to stop breathing, but have said it could possibly have been because of acid reflux - a condition in which the stomach contents (food or liquid) leak backwards from the stomach into the esophagus (the tube from the mouth to the stomach).

-Adapted from Daily Mail