A DOG OWNER reckons that his pets saved his life after he suffered from a crippling bout of kidney stones.

David Noonan from New Oak Estate in Carlow town has a remarkable relationship with his two pooches, Angel and Marley, and it’s a relationship that stood up to the test in David’s hour of need.

Three weeks ago, David awoke in the middle of the night to find the pair of dogs very unsettled. “Neither of them settled so I thought that they needed to go out. I brought them outside but that wasn’t what they wanted. They were very upset about something but I couldn’t figure out what it was,” David explained.

Shortly afterwards, he developed a searing pain in his abdomen. He waited for hours for the pain to subside but he eventually realised that he must see a doctor. He set off on foot from New Oak with Angel by his side.

However, en route to the Caredoc in St Dympna’s Hospital, David collapsed near the fire station.

“While I was lying on the road, Angel kept nudging at me and pulling at the lead until I got away from the traffic,” David revealed.

He was still in extreme pain and barely remembers the excruciating journey to the hospital but reckons it was Angel’s guidance that got him there.

“I was just stumbling my away along; I can’t really remember it that well,” he continued. “It was Angel who led me to Caredoc. She knew the way to go and she brought me there.”

Once David was seen by the doctor, he was immediately referred to St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny and got there by ambulance. Thankfully, his guardian Angel was allowed travel to Kilkenny with him and stayed with him until a friend collected the dog later that day. Kidney stones were diagnosed and David spent weeks in hospital care.

David also suffers from panic attacks, which can lead to black-outs but his dogs have a therapeutic effect on him and help keep him calm.

He has a remarkable relationship with Angel and Marley and has them trained to react in an emergency situation to fetch his phone. They can also press the buttons on a pedestrian crossing and ‘sing’ along with David to the Leonard Cohen song Halleluiah.

Although he’s still recovering from his painful illness, David is now back at home with his gorgeous dogs, who are keeping a close eye on him!