Jenna Brousseau, little Harper and their hero Duke.
About six years ago, the Brousseau family of Portland, CT adopted a little mixed breed dog from the local animal shelter and named the loveable dog Duke. So when little Harper Brousseau joined the family, the little canine just had more family to love, and he showed how much he loved his family one evening by saving Harper's life.
Always a well behaved dog, Duke never jumped on the beds, but one night, he broke the rules and jumped on the bed of Jenna and her husband. The Brousseau's explained that they were so surprised that he was on the bed that they immediately sat up to see what was wrong. They saw that Duke was trembling hard so they knew that something was not right. "He's insanely obedient so this was extremely bizarre," explained Jenna Brousseau. They ran into little Harper's room to check on their nine-week old baby girl, and to their shock, Harper was not breathing.
"My husband called 911 and the ambulance came here and it was because of our Dukie dog, who alerted us," says Jenna. "If Duke hadn't, you know, been so scared, then we would have just gone to sleep." Once the emergency responders arrived and worked on baby Harper, she began to breathe. Doctors are not sure why Harper stopped breathing but say it may have been caused by acid reflux.
If it were not for Duke, the situation could have turned out much worst. The family is now calling Duke a hero and fully credits him for raising the alarm. Jenna is proud that she decided to adopt this wonderful shelter dog. "He is such a good boy. He's the perfect dog. He was meant to be ours, so meant to be ours." Jenna said, as she lovingly petted Duke. The Brousseau family hope that Duke's story will inspire more people to adopt shelter pets.