Bexhill bow-wow has life-saving knowhow (From The Argus)

Bexhill bow-wow has life-saving knowhow

12:00pm Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News

A heroic dog saved his owner’s life when a fire broke out in her house.

Janice Lambert’s hearing dog Marti heard the smoke alarm and alerted her by using his paw.

The pair have now been named as finalists for the Heroic Partnership of the Year category of the Specsavers Hearing Dog Awards 2012.

Janice, 59, of Bexhill, was sitting in her lounge last March when a fire broke out in her kitchen.

Marti knew something was wrong and touched Janice with his paw, before leading her to the kitchen.

She said: “He was visibly shaking but led me to the kitchen doorway. I immediately saw the hob, walls and cupboards all alight with flames leaping up to the ceiling above it.”

Marti led her to safety away from flames that were several feet high.

Janice was able to alert a passerby, who called 999.

After putting out the blaze fire fighters told Janice she had narrowly avoided life-threatening injuries and praised Marti’s quick actions.

Janice said: “The fire brigade later told me I had less than five minutes to get out.

“Marti had saved my life. It was very frightening but Marti is my hero.”

A panel of celebrity judges will honour a selection of some of the 750 hearing dog partnerships.

Last year’s awards saw famous names such as Esther Rantzen, David Bellamy and Chemmy Alcott attend the event.

Michele Jennings, chief executive at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: “The awards will not only be a chance to celebrate the charity’s life-changing work, but also an opportunity to highlight some of the truly incredible personal stories our recipients have to tell. All hearing dog partnerships help to alleviate some of the loneliness, stress and anxiety that hearing loss can often bring.”

The awards ceremony will be held at the Honourable Artillery Company in Central London on Thursday 18 October.

For further information visit www.hearingdogs.org.uk.