Hero Henry the Boston Terrier Probably Saved His Baby Sister’s Life by Butting Her Door Open Repeatedly

The small guy was really annoying his mom, but she was soon grateful to her dog after rushing her daughter to the hospital. By Austin Cannon December 16, 2021 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print
boston terrier laying on bed after saving baby's life Credit: miss / Adobe Stock

Henry the Boston terrier was getting on his mom's nerves Monday night at their Connecticut home. All dogs do it—and we usually don't mind too much—but this little guy kept bonking open the door to where a sick baby was trying to sleep. 

"I kept shooing him out, kind of angrily," Kelly Dowling, Henry's owner and the baby's mom, told the Hartford Courant. "I had just gotten her to sleep and she wasn't feeling well."

Eventually, Henry woke the kiddo up, and Dowling was ticked. But the anger soon turned to worry about her daughter, who could barely breathe. By the end of the evening, it was clear Henry's persistence had saved the day. 

The 9-month-old baby was dealing with a cold and was already on medication. The door to the nursery had a faulty latch, so Henry and his "battering-ram head" were able to nudge it open, Dowling told the Courant. He would then sniff and stare at his tiny human sibling. Normally, he eases off when Dowling shuffles him away, but he kept at it.

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After he finally woke the baby up, Dowling and her husband noticed her crying sounded different and she was struggling to breathe, even turning blue, according to the newspaper. The four-person family drove at law-breaking speeds to Connecticut Children's hospital in Hartford from their home in Glastonbury. 

There, the medical staff was able to clear the baby's airways, improving her condition. Henry, meanwhile, will get even more Christmas presents for his likely life-saving deed.

"I'm going to have to go shopping again for him because I already gave him everything out of his stocking," Dowling told the Courant. 

Dowling documented the story in a series of tweets, the first of which has earned more than 25,000 retweets and nearly 243,000 likes.

"I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't woken her," she wrote. "We don't deserve dogs."