Doberman's unusual attention led to baby's emergency heart treatment

A seven-month-old boy in Somerset was rushed to the emergency room after his family dog acted unusually clingy. Kim Reynolds, 41, said her Doberman, Saraya, would not leave the baby's side and cried whenever he was moved away from the pet that morning. The dog's behavior confused Reynolds, who is a former canine hydro-therapist and a first-time mother.

Reynolds took her son Alexander to the A&E department at Royal Bournemouth Hospital in September. She admitted she felt she might be wasting a doctor's time because Alexander had stopped crying. Doctors quickly found his heart was beating at 280 beats per minute. That rate is far higher than the normal range for an infant.

The medical team tried to slow his heart rate by dunking him in a large bucket of cold water and ice. They submerged his head for 10 seconds. Reynolds said the sound he made was horrific. They repeated the cold water procedure twice, but his heart rate remained high.

Reynolds held Alexander in her lap and told the staff to try intravenous medication. Three doses of the drug finally brought his heart rate down. The family was then transferred by ambulance to Poole Hospital. Reynolds stayed there for two nights. Doctors diagnosed Alexander with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

The syndrome involves extra tissue in the heart that allows electrical pulses to travel through abnormal pathways. This can cause the heart rate to spike and stay elevated. Reynolds described the condition as a state where the heart cannot calm itself down.

Alexander now takes a beta blocker called propranolol three times a day. He receives the medication through a syringe. Reynolds said he knows he needs it and drinks from the syringe without fuss.

This month, Saraya began acting differently around Alexander again. Reynolds was sitting with the baby in his bouncer when the dog started licking his hands and looking at her. Her first thought was that his heart rate was rising again. She checked his pulse and noticed his throat was red. She took him to A&E, where he was diagnosed with bacterial tonsillitis and prescribed penicillin.

Reynolds trusts Saraya completely, even though the dog is not a registered assistance animal. Her sister Francine introduced her to the charity Tiny Tickers. The group works to improve early detection of heart conditions in babies and supports their families.

Reynolds and her sister are participating in a 100-mile challenge in October to raise money for the charity. Reynolds said she did not previously know what the organization did. She noted that a health physician did not recognize SVT when they weighed Alexander a few weeks after the first emergency. She said raising awareness is important because the condition was not picked up at birth or in previous hospital visits.