A silent alarm at midnight: support dog Storm wakes her deaf owner and saves her husband after his fall down the stairs

A deaf woman in Staffordshire, England, says her support dog saved her husband's life after he fell down the stairs. Sandra Donally, 62, lost her hearing very suddenly in 2017 due to a rare disorder, and was partnered with the trained service dog Storm in 2024. Shortly after midnight, Storm suddenly leapt onto her bed, startling her awake, then sat ramrod straight at the other end of the bed, staring out toward the landing — behaviour so strange that it set alarm bells ringing.

The husband at the foot of the stairs, and 24 days in hospital

Moments later, Sandra found Gary lying crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding and unconscious, and called paramedics. The couple later worked out that Gary had come out of the bathroom, lost his footing and fallen down the stairs after missing the handrail. Paramedics rushed him to Royal Stoke Hospital, where he remained for 24 days undergoing reconstructive surgery on his broken jaw. Sandra said of Storm: I don't feel withdrawn anymore because I have Storm by my side; I'm out and about and it's great.