Sheffield dog owner’s life saved by Romanian rescue puppy after detecting critical heart condition

A grateful dog owner who adopted a puppy from Romania in 2023 says her new family member saved her life, after it alerted her to a dangerous heart condition.

Beth Foster, aged 27, suffers from bicuspid aortic valve disease, a congenital heart condition that requires medication and careful monitoring and can be fatal without medical attention.

When she began suffering chest pains in September, she initially attributed them to the stress of losing several family members and pets this year, including service dog, Ella. But 10-month-old papillon mix Frankie would not leave her alone until she sought help. 

“She kind of jumped onto my chest and just froze her nose at my chest,” said Beth.

“She’d never done it before, and I thought it was a bit weird – I went to hospital and they said ‘why are you here?’ so I explained what Frankie had done. They took my blood pressure and said, ‘she’s potentially saved your life’.”

Staff at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield discovered that Beth had a blood pressure of 168/111 and was at such a high heart attack risk she needed to be hospitalised.

“It feels really surreal,” said Beth. “I told the doctors the story of how Frankie was a rescue and they said ‘well, she’s repaid the favour really’. I don’t know how I would have got through this year without her, she’s my little hero.”

Their close bond motivated Beth to train Frankie as a medical alert assistance dog and she now accompanies her everywhere she goes as a fully qualified companion pet.

“We’re so in tune with each other,” said Beth. “It’s just amazing – despite being from different countries and different time zones, we still found each other. It’s a lovely little relationship we’ve got.”

Beth, a health and social care graduate, volunteers as an adoption administrator for Romanian dog rescue charity Pawprints to Freedom. 

Besides rescuing dogs, Pawprints to Freedom also educates local communities about animal welfare and organises spay campaigns to fight the never-ending horror of the stray dog problem.

To support the rescue of dogs like Frankie, visit: https://www.pawprints2freedom.co.uk/donate.