It was February 12th 1997. It was pitch dark and a very cold night. Mr Chuck Cordiner was out, as usual, taking Bobby, his collie dog, for his evening walk. It was about 10.15pm.

Chuck and Bobby were walking through the Carsegate Road North, which is not their typical route, when Bobby seemed to disappear. Chuck called on him "Bobby come on" but he didn’t come. This in itself was unusual because Bobby is normally a very obedient dog. Chuck walked over to the embankment, and turned around to see where Bobby was. To Chuck’s amazement there was this big fella lying on the ground moaning and groaning with Bobby sitting next to him. The man was muttering "please help me, please help me."

Chuck knew immediately that the man was in need of medical attention and ran to the nearest phone box and dialled 999 for help. By the time Chuck got back down to the embankment the ambulance was there, and that big fella, who goes by the name of Alex Smith, was saved. And he has good ol’ Bobby, the Long Haired Border Collie, to thank for it. As Chuck says, "It was my Bobby that found him."

Alex, of Rosehaugh Road, tells the News and Views : "That dog saved my life. It was freezing that night and I had decided to take a short cut across the railway. I fell and as a result of my injuries couldn’t move. I was lying there in the freezing cold wondering what on earth was going to happen to me when this dog appeared. The dog, who I now know as Bobby, snuggled into me to keep me warm. I was very lucky that night. Bobby really did save my life that night, and do you know it was the night before my birthday as well. It’s a true story, Bobby is a champion and I have the scars of my accident to prove that it really did happen!"

Bobby, who is five years old, has just recently went through a rather traumatic experience himself. The lifesaving Collie is recovering from a recent operation to remove an abscess from his throat, and all of us here at the News and Views wish the heroic canine a very speedy recovery.