Pregnant Mother Is Puzzled When Dog Won’t Stop Barking, Doesn’t Realize It’s Trying To Save Her

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We all know that dogs are humans’ best friends. Not only do they provide us with company, protect us, make us laugh and smile, they sometimes even guide us when we are lost.

Dogs can also save our lives from invisible dangers – as one woman found out.

Keola is a 3-year-old American Akita who lives in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

She was adopted in 2014 by Alhanna Butler and her fiancé Ricky Burdis. They were excited to have a new addition to their growing family and were ready to spoil her and take lots of pictures of her. But they never imagined they were adopting a guardian angel.

Fast forward a year later, and Keola was fully grown.

Ricky and Alhanna couldn’t be more happy with her, calling her “their bear.”

The dog was already bigger and heavier than them, but had the gentlest and sweetest temperament.

Alhanna loved cuddling with her on the couch while watching TV.

Later that year, their family welcomed some big news.

In April of 2015, Alhanna announced that she was pregnant to the surprise and delight of their friends and relatives.

Keola was always good with children and seemed excited by the prospect of a bigger family.

Alhanna had absolutely no doubt in her mind that she would make a great big sister. But soon she would discover that something wasn’t right.

Just a few months into her pregnancy, Alhanna started experiencing severe pain in her lower back. She went to the doctor, who then told her they were probably just side effects from the pregnancy.

A growing abdomen can cause a strain to the spine and back muscles, so it made sense she would feel some pain.

She was relieved, she returned home. But someone else in her household was not convinced.

Alhanna started noticing Keola acting odd around her, but couldn’t figure out why. “When the doctors sent me home and said there was nothing seriously wrong, she just sat staring at me so intently that it really scared me,” she explained to Mercury Press. She tried to shrug it off, but Keola’s behavior just became stranger as time went by.

Having always been a very laid-back dog, Keola was now becoming increasingly pushy. She began to worry that these changes had something to do with her pregnancy.

Perhaps the dog was upset about no longer being the primary focus of attention.

But if she was truly jealous of their baby, they would have to give her up.

Alhanna agonized just at the thought of it.

Then, Ricky started to notice Keola getting really upset when Alhanna left for work in the morning.

She barked incessantly, something she had never done before. It was as if she was afraid something would happen to Alhanna when Keola wasn’t there to protect her.

Ricky and Alhanna just couldn’t put a finger on the reason for this strange change, until they posted a picture on Facebook.

Keola’s weird behavior started escalating. She would nudge Alhanna, cry, and stare at her for long periods of time. “I posted a picture of her doing this on Facebook and made the joke about the film Hachi where the dog also does this and suddenly my friends all started saying I should take it seriously.”

That’s when the couple realized that maybe she was trying to tell them something.

Alhanna decided to take Keola’s actions as a warning, and headed back to the hospital for another check-up.

After the examination, Alhanna was immediately rushed into intensive care. The couple was shocked when doctors told them she had been just moments away from certain death. Finally, Alhanna learned the truth about her backaches.

As it turned out, Alhanna wassuffering from a double kidney infection, which was responsible for the shooting pains in her lower back.

On top of that, the infection was a rare, antibiotic-resistant bug that had only been known to affect one other person in the entire U.K.

And had she not sought care in time, she and her unborn baby would have likely died. Alhanna instantly knew who had saved their life.“No one really understood how ill I was – but Keola did,” said Alhanna. Luckily,

Alhanna was treated for the infection and eventually regained her health.

Her pregnancy returned back to normal and she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, whom they called Lincoln.

A new chapter in their life began as soon as Lincoln was born, Keola took up the role of big sister and babysitter, and they quickly became best friends.

They love to take naps together and Keola makes him laugh like no one else can.

This dog’s loyalty to her family is extraordinary, and people rightfully noticed.

After telling their story to the Daily Mirror, Alhanna was notified that Keola had been nominated to the RSPCA’s “Animal Hero Award.”

As a finalist, she and both her owners were invited to a red carpet event to celebrate. For Keola, though, nothing is as rewarding as spending time with Alhanna, Ricky, and her best friend Lincoln.