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Jenna Brousseau’s dog Duke, whom she rescued from an animal shelter six years ago, is credited for saving the life of her 9-week-old baby Harper. When the infant girl stopped breathing in the middle of the night on Oct. 14, Duke woke up her parents with shakes and cries.

Jenna Brousseau and her busband rescued their beloved dog Duke six years ago when he was just an abandoned puppy at a shelter, and the family pooch payed it forward — and saved the life of their baby daughter Harper. 

When the 9-week-old baby girl stopped breathing in the middle of the night, Duke ran into the master bedroom and woke up the Brousseau family with his violent shakes at their Portland, Connecticut home.

“He is insanely obedient, so this was extremely bizarre,” Jenna told WFSB News.

Worried, the couple woke up and checked on their daughter. Then Jenna’s husband noticed she wasn’t breathing — he immediately called an ambulance. Paramedics revived little Harper before she was taken to the hospital.

“If Duke hadn’t been so scared, we would have just gone to sleep,” she said. “He’s the perfect dog, he was meant to be ours.”

Doctors aren’t sure what caused the baby girl to stop breathing, but believe it may have been because of acid reflux, a condition in which the contents of the stomach leak back into the esophagus.

We’re so happy little Harper is OK –and love that Duke was there to save the day!

What do YOU think of this story HollyMoms? Has your family dog ever alerted you to danger before?

– Christina Stiehl

More heroic HollyBaby stories:

1. Heroic 12-Year-Old Boy Saves Grandmother From Burning House
2. Three Children Were Rescued From An Icy River By A Heroic Bystander
3. Heroic Father Rescues Daughter From Abductor’s Arms