RESCUED dog Bobby knows he has a warm home, food and future thanks to the owner he adores – and today she owes her life to him.For the loveable Jack Russell has been hailed a hero for saving his disabled owner Eve Dewen's life after waking up her husband Charles so she could be rushed to hospital in the night.

RESCUED dog Bobby knows he has a warm home, food and future thanks to the owner he adores – and today she owes her life to him.

For the loveable Jack Russell has been hailed a hero for saving his disabled owner Eve Dewen's life after waking up her husband Charles so she could be rushed to hospital in the night.

He proved he was a real Bobby dazzler by springing into action when he realised Mrs Dewen was having breathing difficulties and needed urgent help.

He went into Mr Dewen's bedroom and barked and barked until he woke up and immediately went to investigate.

Mr Dewen, 68 of Kingsfleet Road, Felixstowe said: "Eve needed to be taken to hospital at once – there was no two ways about it – and if she hadn't got there and had her airways unblocked she would have died.

"Bobby saved her life. Without him waking me up because he knew Eve needed me she would be dead.

"He really looks out for and keeps a watch on her all time. We think he must have lived before with someone who was not well because he is a really caring little dog and a real gem."

Mrs Dewen, 75, suffers from a variety of ailments, including severe arthritis, emphysema and bronchiectasis. She suffers dreadful breathing problems and needs constant care to ensure she has the correct medication.

She said: "At night I have a little brass hammer which I can use to tap on the metal side of my bed to wake Charles if I need help.

"Sometimes if I am coughing or spluttering he will hear me anyway. But on this night he was sleeping deeply and Bobby knew I was in trouble.

"He ran and barked and woke him up – he just seemed to know what to do. He is a wonderful dog and such a friend."

She had to spend several days in Ipswich Hospital until the doctors felt her condition had stabilised and she could return home.

Mr and Mrs Dewen got three-year-old Bobby from a rescued dog centre in Hacheston, where he had been waiting for adoption because his previous owner could no longer look after him.

Mr Dewen who is a full time carer for his wife said many of her lung problems stemmed from when she smoked for a time earlier in her life.

Mrs Dewen said: "I packed up 25 years ago. If I had had any idea what would happen to me I would never have smoked."

Factfile: bronchiectasis

n Bronchiectasis happens when the bronchial tubes in the lungs get damaged, preventing the tubes from cleaning themselves, leaving mucus to accumulate and making them prone to infection by bacteria.

n The most common symptom is coughing up phlegm, often in large quantities, every day, which can be tiring and socially embarrassing.

n Eighty per cent of people also have wheezy shortness of breath and a runny nose and one third suffer from chronic sinusitis.

n Sometimes the affected part of the lung is removed by an operation, while regular daily self-administered physiotherapy is used to drain the infected tubes, anti-asthma treatment to improve airflow, and antibiotics to treat infections.

Source: www.lunguk.org