Dog Saves Pregnant Woman, Baby on Long Island

A doctor from Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) credits Louie, a 1-year-old Goldendoodle, for saving the life of Merokean [resident of Merrick on Long island] Janelle Giannetta and her newborn baby, according to Newsday.

Giannetta, who was 26 weeks pregnant, wasn't feeling well Friday and went to lay down in her second-floor bedroom when Louie, who doesn't bark often, did so over and over.
Richard, who was cleaning up from Jannelle's 28th birthday party, initially thought that Louie was barking at something outside, but when he realized it was from upstairs, he went to take a look.
From Newsday:
In the bedroom, he said, he found the 75-pound dog standing on the bed barking at his wife. Janelle was having a seizure, her tongue was rolled back and she had a ring of white foam around her mouth, Richard said.
Richard called 911, and Janelle was taken to NUMC and diagnosed with eclampsia. 
Dr. Peter Hong, chief of NUMC's high risk pregnancy service, told Newsday that the only cure is to deliver the baby, he said, so the decision was made to perform a Caesarean section.

Charlotte Marie was born on Saturday at 2:25 a.m., and she weighed just 1 pound, 7 ounces. The baby remains in the neonatal intensive care unit, where she will stay until July, Hong said.

While Richard and Janelle credited emergency responders for their work, Hong said that Louie played a major role.

"In my opinion, the dog is the real hero," he said. "If not for the dog's barking, she could have had one seizure after another, after another...and she would have gotten care a lot later, and that would have made my job much harder."

Editor's note: This article previously was published by Merrick Patch in New York state.