'Lassie' saves owner from ditch

Orca has been trained to get help

A golden labrador is enjoying hero status after saving the life of his disabled owner when she plunged down a ditch in her wheelchair.

Orca sprang into action when Cheryl Smith's motorised wheelchair struck a brick, causing it to veer off down a steep drainage ditch in York.

She came to rest with the wheelchair on top of her, trapping her legs and with water just feet away.

However, the dog, who was given to Cheryl by the charity Canine Partners, immediately sprang into action and located a nearby jogger who followed him back to Cheryl and raised the alarm.

It was like an episode of Lassie

Peter Harrison
Jogger

The drama unfolded on Sunday when Cheryl, 22, a chemistry student at the University of York, was taking Orca for a walk along a dirt track near Holmefield Lane, Heslington.

She said: "He was amazing. He did exactly as he was trained to do.

"There was no way I could have got out of the ditch. It was getting late and I was very cold

"Basically he saved my life."

Jogger Peter Harrison, who followed Orca to the ditch and found Cheryl, ran home to raise the alarm.

Orca can also unload Cheryl's washing machine

He then met a fire crew at the road to direct them while his wife, Julia, and daughter, Rosie, kept Cheryl company.

He said: "The dog approached me and then ran away.

"It became obvious that he wanted me to follow him.

"It was like an episode of Lassie.

Fire crews lifted Cheryl out of the ditch and kept her warm until an off-road paramedic arrived to take her to hospital.

Cheryl added: "I thought Orca was unbelievable, anyway, because he can obey 105 commands, unload the washing machine and press buttons at the pedestrian crossing.

"He can now add saving my life to the list."