Incredible way adorable husky puppy saved owner's life after he suffered massive heart attack
A Canadian military veteran has revealed the incredibly way his puppy Bear saved his life after he suffered a massive heart attack.
Darren Cropper, 57, said he should have died in August 2022 when he suffered the medical emergency, but Bear sprang into action and leapt up and down on his chest for hours until he was discovered.
The Siberian Husky jumped for so long that paw prints were left in Cropper's chest, reports the National Post.
Paramedics later told the father and retired Special Forces weapons specialist that the only thing that kept him from death was Bear's heroics.
Darren Cropper, 57, revealed that his beloved puppy Bear saved his life by leaping up and down on his chest for hours after he suffered a heart attack
Bear, a Siberian Husky who was one year old at the time, jumped for so long that paw prints were left in Cropper's chest
Cropper said his near-death experience came late in the summer, when he woke up in the middle of the night feeling unwell.
He said he decided to go downstairs to watch TV instead of going back to bed because 'once I'm up, I'm up.'
But after stepping into his basement, Cropper said everything went black and the next thing he knew his one-year-old dog was pouncing on his chest.
Bear went on to howl and shriek, getting the attention of Darren's wife Janice, 59, and son Matthew, 29.
They discovered Cropper lying flat on the floor, and called 911 to race him to hospital.
He was first transported from his home in Bonfield, Ontario to North Bay Regional Health Centre, before he was moved to the cardiac unit of a larger hospital as he required open heart surgery.
Medics found that Darren's heart attack was triggered by the arteries from his right lung to his heart shutting down.
Cropper was found by his wife Janice, 59 (pictured together) and son Matthew after Bear's howls for help led them to him
Cropper said Bear is now known as 'Care Bear' or 'Hero Puppy' for his life saving efforts
Cropper is a retired Special Forces weapons specialist with the Canadian military
Looking back on the incredible near-miss, Cropper told the National Post: 'If Bear hadn’t jumped on my chest, I wouldn’t be alive.
'Basically, he did Puppy CPR and got my blood flowing. No one taught him that, but both his parents were service dogs. I guess it’s in him, his instinct.'
While recovering in hospital, Cropper said he couldn't see his savior pet due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and could only communicate with video calls.
But he said despite the distance, his beloved pooch still recognized him, as 'he saw me on the video, and he just went nuts!'
Bear's lifesaving efforts have since landed him a place on the Purina Hall of Fame, alongside other canines that rescued their owners against the odds.
'My wife calls him our Care Bear. I call him my Hero Puppy,' Cropper concluded.
