Storm round-up: guide dog Piper protects owner from falling tree

A guide dog saved a blind and deaf man from being hit by a falling tree during Monday’s storm.

Two-year-old golden retriever Piper alerted Errol Grant (63), of Happyhillock Walk, to the danger seconds before the 20ft lilac tree was uprooted by an 80mph gust.

The tree toppled on to the exact spot where Mr Grant would have been standing, had Piper not stopped him from stepping off his patio door steps.

“I’m a keen gardener and I was pottering about in the garden,” Mr Grant told The Courier. “I was about to walk on to the grass and the dog came across my path and kept tugging my arm.

“I wanted to come out into the garden but he kept pulling me back. He’s trained that, if I’m in danger, not to move.

“I thought there’s something wrong but I wouldn’t hear it. The next thing the wind just uprooted the tree and it fell into the garden. I would have been right underneath it if he didn’t stop me.

“I’ve only had Piper for three months,” he added. “My last dog Gina died and they teamed me up with Piper it’s remarkable how quickly they bond.”