When the Brousseau family rescued their dog, Duke, from a shelter in 2007 they had no way of knowing that six years later he would return the favor and save their infant daughter’s life. The Portland, Connecticut family had gone to bed on a Sunday night when Duke jumped on the Brousseau’s bed and was shaking uncontrollably, enough to wake them up.
“If Duke hadn’t been so scared, we would have just gone to sleep,” said Jenna Brousseau. “He is insanely obedient, so this is extremely bizarre,” Jenna told reporters of Duke’s behavior.
Since Duke has never acted like that before, the couple knew something was wrong. They immediately checked in on their 9-week-old daughter, Harper, and discovered that she was not breathing.
Jenna’s husband called 911 and Harper was revived by paramedics before being taken to an area hospital to be monitored. Jenna credits Duke with saving her daughter’s life and wanted to share their story because they wanted to inspire others to consider rescuing an animal like they did.
“I tell him all the time, ‘You were born in mommy’s heart,’ just because he was so meant to be ours,” Jenna said of her heroic dog.
Dogs are awesome protectors. Check out this story of a dog named Killian who helped his parents catch an abusive babysitter.
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