When I saved a Collie from a puppy farm, I had no idea I’d rescued a guardian angel. By Lorna Campbell, 35
By Rosie Evans.
Gazing down into a pair of soulful eyes, I thought my heart would burst with love.
‘We need to take him,’ I told my partner Josh.
Josh and I had been wanting to adopt a puppy for ages and we were delighted when we spotted an ad online for a Border Collie.
But when we arrived to collect him, we realised immediately it was an illegal puppy farm.
I knew we had to save him – and report the breeder to the police.
We named our new arrival Blue and brought him home. At just six weeks old, he was timid at first, cautiously exploring our home, nose twitching as he investigated all the new smells.
As he got to know us, though, his affectionate, playful side came out.
His favourite thing was to play fetch with my son, and he also loved springing up onto my lap for a cuddle.
When Blue was two, Josh and I began trying for a baby, and a couple of months later, I missed my period.
‘I’m pregnant!’ I said to Josh.
‘That’s amazing,’ he replied.
From that moment, Blue didn’t leave my side.
‘It’s like he knows I’m expecting,’ I said.
But our happiness was short-lived.
At just six weeks along, I began to experience crippling pain that left me unable to walk.
Scans revealed it was an ectopic pregnancy.
My much longed-for baby wasn’t going to survive and I had an operation to remove the pregnancy, and returned home, grieving.
Blue knew instantly.
He curled up with me on the sofa and pressed his body against me as I cried.
In time, I began to heal.
And, when I fell pregnant again a year later, Blue was glued to my side once more.
If a stranger attempted to approach me when we were out and about, he’d get in between us and bark at them like a furry bodyguard.
This time, my pregnancy progressed well and, while I had morning sickness, I didn’t mind.
Every time I felt my baby kick, it reminded me what a miracle it was that I’d got this far.
Then, three days after my due date, Blue suddenly became restless, pacing from room to room in a state of confusion.
Next thing, he was cowering underneath the table, shaking.
‘What’s wrong with Blue?’ Josh said.
‘I don’t know,’ I replied.
We tried our best to comfort him but, next morning, he still wasn’t himself.
But I didn’t have time to think about it. My contractions had started and eventually I said to Josh, ‘We need to go to hospital.’
'You're such a clever boy!'
Four hours after we arrived, our daughter Abi burst into the world.
The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, however, and her face had turned purple.
Doctors hurried to untangle her and, thankfully, she began breathing normally.
My little miracle, I thought, so grateful she was healthy and safe.
Carrying Abi through the door of our home in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, later that day, I wondered how Blue would react.
He’d still been behaving strangely that morning but now he was back to his old self and peered curiously at the bundle in my arms.
I sat down on the sofa to introduce him.
‘This is Abi,’ I said.
Blue gave her an inquisitive sniff, followed by a tender nuzzle.
It was love at first sight.
And that’s when I realised.
Blue knew Abi was coming, I thought_. That’s why he was scared and stressed._
He might even have known she was in danger with the cord around her neck.
‘You’re such a clever boy!’ I told him.
And it wasn’t long before Blue’s sixth sense predicted another event.
He’d always loved visiting my mum Janet or, more specifically, her Border Collie Floyd.
The two dogs would tear around the house together.
But on one visit, Blue kept cuddling up to Floyd, not wanting to leave him alone.
I thought it was odd but later that day everything became clear when Mum called me in floods of tears.
‘It’s Floyd,’ she said. ‘He has cancer. The vet told me to say my goodbyes.’
I was heartbroken for her and Blue.
They’d lost their best buddy.
And it dawned on me that Blue had known Floyd was poorly. That was why he’d stayed so close to him.
He was saying goodbye to his pal.
Blue is eight now and he continues to predict life’s ups and downs.
He's helped me and Abi, now six, through so many tough times, including when Josh and I sadly split up.
If he behaves oddly or suddenly becomes fixated on something, I pay attention because it means he’s trying to tell me something important.
When I rescued him I could never had predicted he’d become a guardian angel – one with a waggy tail.