** The winner of the Society’s K9 Bravery Award was Hugo**
Hugo – the 13 and a half year old Labrador
Here is Hugo’s story!
In January 2021 a man called Gregor was walking along Linlithgow Canal with his 5 year old son. Earlier on their walk they had passed Brian who was out walking his dog Hugo. When he and his son were making their way back along later on, Gregor noticed Hugo. However, Hugo was sitting alone on the canal path which he thought was a bit strange so Gregor went to look for Brian.
Thanks to Hugo he soon found Brian, lying face-down in the freezing canal. Gregor managed to turn Brian round in the water so was face up, called for help and managed to get him out of the water. His 5 year old son Lucas waited for help with Hugo. Gregor says that had it not been for Hugo he wouldn’t have known either to look for Brian or have been able to find him when he did.
Hugo stayed with Brian exactly where he was and didn’t budge, almost like a lookout for help – which is what got Gregor’s attention.
Hugo is a very friendly and sociable dog, known to many in the town from his daily walks out with Brian. I mention this as he is known for his social chin-wags with locals so Hugo is not a dog who lacks confidence in seeking human attention, yet he stayed loyal and true to Brian.
Hugo remained calm and extremely brave in this terrifying situation. He also was extremely calm and brave when he was in the company of Gregor’s 5 year old son when Brian was pulled from the water. Such a stressful event for everyone involved. Had Hugo not been so loyal and devoted this accident could have been a fatal one.
Brian has dementia and they believe this is what caused him to slip on his walk that day resulting in his fall into the canal. He was in shock and went to hospital but thankfully Brian recovered fully from his physical injuries.
Brian and his family are extremely grateful to Gregor and Lucas for their help that day, and will forever remember Hugo’s life-saving loyalty. Hugo really is the best companion Brian could hope for and we at DASS think Hugo is a well-deserving winner of our K9 Bravery Award 2021.
