Family dog who saved suicidal owner nominated for Naturo Super Dog Awards
A DOG who helped save the lives of two family members including preventing her owner taking her own life has been shortlisted for a top award.
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Ruby Roo, a Jack Russell and Chihuahua cross, is up for The Companion Award along with several other canines in this year's Naturo SuperDog Awards 2021. She was adopted at seven-and-a-half weeks old after her owner Karen Woodage, from Reading, noticed the puppy was being bullied by her siblings.
Seeing Ruby Roo so scared reminded Karen of her own childhood experiences of being physically picked on and decided to take on the little dog.
She said: "All the memories came flooding back of the torment I went through for six years at school with bullying. It started just after my dad had died when I was just 11 years old, and my life as I knew it had ended.
"We decided to give this very special little girl a chance that I never had, a way out from the sadness and torment that I had gone through, and we took her home."
However, what should have been a happy time quickly triggered Karen's 25 year-battle with depression again, leading her to become very suicidal.
One day, she locked herself in the bathroom in an attempt to take her own life but stopped once she her her furry friend barking and scratching at the door.
"Ruby followed me wherever I went, never ever left my side," Karen explained. "All I remember is Ruby outside the door barking, crying and scratching trying to get in. I must have not shut the door properly and I heard it click open.
"I walked over to the door and Ruby ran at me barking. All of a sudden it seemed as if a light had been switched on in me that had been out for so many years. I felt an overwhelming love for this very special little dog.
"Ruby did for me what therapy couldn’t do. Ruby had given me my life back."
A year after taking home Ruby Roo, Karen was diagnosed with skin cancer, resulting in the dog owner facing two operations and thankfully has now received the all clear.
Thanks to her beloved dog's loyalty, Karen gained a new outlook on and now works as a qualified dog trainer and behaviourist.
But it is not just her owner's life Ruby Roo saved, she also helped save Karen's daughter, Nicole's unborn daughter.
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Seven months into her pregnancy, the mum-to-be began feeling very unwell, with the pooch following her everywhere she went.
Karen said: "Each time Nicole sat down Ruby would jump on her lap and sniff Nicole’s belly and rested her head on it whining. It was like she was telling us that something was wrong."
Ruby Roo's instinct proved right, that evening Nicole was admitted to hospital with pre-eclampsia and gave birth via C-Section a few days later.
Granddaughter Emily is now four-year-old and is best friends with her grandmother's dog.
" I came so close to losing my daughter that day," explained Karen. "If it hadn’t been for Ruby I know that my daughter and granddaughter wouldn’t be here today."
The Naturo SuperDog Awards will be hosted by TV presenter Stacey Dooley and take place at a celebrity-hosted evening in London this November.
Dog owners are invited to share their stories of how their pets have made a difference to their lives and promote responsible dog ownership.
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Entries close on July 31, followed by a judging process with winners picked across seven categories.
For more information about the Naturo SuperDog Awards and how to enter, visit www.superdogawards.co.uk
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