Hero dog helps save life of suicidal woman on motorway bridge

A heroic dog who is trained to help fire crew suffering from trauma has been credited with saving the life of a suicidal woman.

Australian labradoodle Digby is a "defusing" dog for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, meaning he helps crews during talking therapy sessions.

He was brought along to an incident where a young woman was thinking of taking her life on a bridge over the M5 near Exeter.

In a post that has been retweeted over 4,000 times, the service explained that despite negotiators being at the scene, the situation was “becoming increasingly worrying”.

Once Digby arrived the woman “immediately swung her head round to look, and smiled”, before a conversation about the dog’s role in the service started.

Happily the woman came back over the railings when asked if she wanted to come and meet Digby, the service added.

A service spokesperson told Devon Live that the woman was taken into the care of mental health professionals.

As well as Digby’s role in helping crews from the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, he has also been trained as a therapy dog that provides contact with vulnerable people in schools, hospices and hospitals for the charity Pets as Therapy (PAT).

His handler Matt Goodman has previously spoken of how popular Digby is with crews.

He said: "The crews immediately responded to Digby when he arrived at the fire station which provided a positive focus both before and during the defusing session.

“The value he added was tangible.

"The use of Therapy Dogs has been scientifically proven to help people who have been exposed to traumatic situations or who are dealing with very challenging situations in their lives such as ill health or learning ability.”

For confidential emotional support, contact The Samaritans by emailing jo@samaritans.org or calling 116 123 at any time.

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