When Alhanna Butler of the UK was pregnant, “friends” told her she should get rid of her Akita, Keola.  But she loves her dog, and would do no such thing.  Thankfully she didn’t.  One day Keola would not leave her mum’s side, and whined until Alhanna made a trip to the hospital, which saved the lives of both her and her unborn son just in time.

“I was 20 weeks pregnant and had been so unwell for weeks, I couldn’t walk… and I hadn’t kept anything down for weeks,” Alhanna said in a post on Facebook (which is no longer available).

“Doctors put it down to me being so small and my spine not being able to manage with the extra weight well and just normal pregnancy symptoms but Keola wouldn’t leave my side.”

When Alhanna got ready for work, Keola insistently nudged her, and would not stop barking and whining.

Upon her return home, “Keola looked so sad and I knew something was bothering her. She just sat there staring at me and wouldn’t let me go anywhere alone.”

Unable to ignore Keola’s desperate signals, Alhanna went to the hospital, and fainted as soon as she began walking down the corridor.  She was rushed to the ICU, where she faded in and out of consciousness while on morphine.

“Turns out my backache was due to a double kidney infection and because it was untreated for so long it was one of the worst cases they had ever seen.”

https://www.facebook.com/alhanna.butler/videos/10204721652029654/

“On top of that I had an antibiotic resistant bug that had only ever affected one other person in the UK. It was killing me and the doctors told me if I had left it any longer I would have died and more than likely my son also.”

Alhanna and her son, who was named Lincoln, are alive and well, thanks to Keola.  She absolutely adores her new little brother, and has happily taken on the role of his nanny.

“She is our hero, his guardian angel and we will forever be in her debt.”