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Dog saves life of blind Leeds pensioner with no sense of smell
A blind pensioner with no sense of smell who knocked her gas on says she was saved by her guide dog.
Ivy Needham, 83, accidentally knocked the gas tap on her cooker after making lunch and left it on for more than six hours.
But Mrs Needham, who is also deaf, knew nothing about the problem.
She was lying collapsed in her arm chair at home in Belle Isle from the gas fumes, when loyal guide dog Carmen, a black curly coat retriever, woke her by tugging and eventually tearing her sleeve.
"She woke me up, I wondered what was wrong with her.
"I didn't know what was wrong, just that I was literally out for the count," said Ivy.
"Carmen was dragging me off the chair, trying to get me to the door, but I was so sleepy I couldn't wake up. The dog was sick and in a panic. She definitely saved me. She's my hero."
Mrs Needham, who has oxygen tanks for her lung condition, said: "I luckily woke up in time to have my regular dose of oxygen through the tubes."
Then her home helps arrived on the scene and were overwhelmed by the strong smell of gas and immediately rang 999.
Care worker Dianna Barry, 58, a mum-of-six of Middleton, said: "When we got inside the house the smell of gas was overpowering.
"We got Ivy out straight away and turned the gas tap off, then called 999. We were really worried that something would spark an explosion as the smell of gas was so strong."
Care worker mum-of-three Lisa Pullen, 39, of Belle Isle, said: "Fortunately, Ivy was on her oxygen at the time so she didn't breathe the gas in.
"We both had headaches the next day and the dog had been sick.
"We did what anybody else would have done in those circumstances. We're so pleased we got to her before anything really bad happened."
They opened all the windows and doors to her bungalow and brought Ivy round before gas emergency services arrived.
Now the plucky pensioner wants to thank all three of them for saving her life: "If it wasn't for them, I don't think I would be here. I couldn't smell a thing and didn't even realise I had knocked the cooker on.
"I want to warn other people, especially older people, to be very careful around their cooker and not to knock anything on."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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