A guide dog for a blind, cancer-stricken Mintlaw woman could be in line for a national award for saving her life.
Garner, a six-year-old retriever cross, is a companion to 48-year-old Susanne McCafferty, who suffers from terminal spinal cancer.
Last March, when Mrs McCafferty had taken ill, he activated an alarm which alerted her husband and medical teams to her situation.
Garner could now win the dog Guide Dog Scotland’s Above the Call of Duty Award.
Mrs McCafferty’s 29-year-old son, Edwin, said he owed Garner huge thanks.
He explained: “One day, while everyone was at work, she became very unwell.
“My mum has a community care alarm by her bed.
“While Garner knew something was wrong, he couldn’t alert her but, somehow, he managed to put his paw on the fob and alerted the community care team by triggering the alarm.
“I feel that, if Garner had not done this, my mum would no longer be alive.”
Mrs McCafferty, who was diagnosed in 2010, added: “I wake up every day for Garner.
“I have my husband, Paul, but Garner’s my soul mate, my life; he protects me. I’ve got a lot to thank Garner for.
“Guide dogs aren’t trained to what he did; he just seems to have an instinct. He makes me fight my cancer.”
She will travel with her son to the awards ceremony in London on Wednesday, December 10.
The Guide Dogs Annual Awards celebrates the work of the charity, guide dogs and their owners.
Guide Dogs’ Edinburgh mobility team manager Colin Gallagher said: “I am thrilled that Susanne and Edwin are finalists in the Guide Dogs Annual Awards 2014 – this significant achievement is very well-deserved.”
A spokesman for the charity added that the evening ceremony, which will take place at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel, will be a “spectacular night to remember with special performances and fundraising activities that will help raise vital funds for our life changing work”.
Mrs McCafferty had previously worked as a fundraiser for the charity before stepping down from her role in 2012.