Dogs are, without question, the most loyal creatures on Earth.
Their unconditional love and loyalty has been proved once again by a photo that recently won the internet; a service dog refusing to leave her mom’s hospital room.
Shauna Darcy got Ruby as a service dog to help ease her anxiety, depression, and agoraphobia. What she didn’t expect was for Ruby to turn out to be an incredibly loyal companion who was willing to stick by her no matter what.
As Darcy mentioned to the Dodo, “While she was training to be a service dog I noticed that she started picking up on changes in my heart rate and would act funny — for example, paw at me, try to get my attention, get on top of me, etc.”
Choosing to listen to Ruby’s cues, Shauna went to see a doctor and quickly learned that she was experiencing health issues she hadn’t known about, including a rare heart condition called vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Ruby had already known something was wrong even before Shauna did, and as a service dog, she quickly switched focus to Shauna’s cardiac issues.
Every day, Ruby helps her with things like monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure, assisting her during panic attacks, as well as retrieving emergency medications. Ruby also carries groceries, picks up dropped items and gets things for Shauna that she can’t reach. Ruby is even trained in deep pressure therapy!
“When I pass out she gets on top of me and applies all her pressure on me and licks my hands and face until I come around,” Darcy said.
Ruby is there for Darcy every single day no matter what.
In fact, she even saved her life! Ruby began alerting Darcy that something was wrong – though Darcy had no idea what it could be since she was feeling fine. Regardless, she trusted Ruby and called for an ambulance.
“It turns out my heart was going into atrial fibrillation,” Darcy said. “By the time the paramedics came, I was in pain and barely conscious.”
As she was being rushed to the hospital, Darcy realized that Ruby had saved her life.
While Shauna was in the hospital and the doctors worked to stabilize her, Ruby refused to leave her side. Even while she was unconscious, Ruby lay in her hospital bed, pressed up against her, hoping Shauna could sense she was there and that she would feel safe.
During their hospital stay, lots of people stopped by to meet Ruby. She’s always very popular whenever she and Shauna go – but always sticks close to Shauna’s side, as she loves her so much. And Shauna loves her right back.
