{"id":900357,"date":"2026-10-30T21:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T21:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/900357\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T21:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T21:54:12","slug":"babys-life-saved-after-family-dog-detects-racing-heartbeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/900357\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby’s life saved after family dog detects racing heartbeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"SWNS\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

A baby\u2019s life was saved after his racing heartbeat<\/a> was detected \u2013 by the family dog.<\/p>\n

Mom Kim Reynolds, 41, was confused by her pet Doberman<\/a> Saraya\u2019s unusual \u201dneedy\u201d behavior around six-month-old Alexander.<\/p>\n

Saraya wouldn\u2019t leave the baby\u2019s side and cried every time he was taken away from her that morning.<\/p>\n

Six-month-old Alexander interacts with his family\u2019s pet Doberman, Saraya. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Kim Reynolds holds six-month-old Alexander alongside their Doberman, Saraya. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Alexander receives treatment at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Alexander later became upset and looked unwell and his mom rushed him to Royal Bournemouth Hospital\u2019s A&E department.<\/p>\n

Doctors discovered Alexander was suffering from a dangerously fast heart rhythm, at 280 beats per minute.<\/p>\n

Two days later he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Doctors discovered Alexander was suffering from a dangerously fast heart rhythm, at 280 beats per minute. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Kim, a former canine hydro-therapist and first-time mom, said: \u201cSaraya knew his heart rate was higher than it should\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n

\u201dI had no idea. She sensed it. I dread to think what would have happened if I just put him in the cot and walked away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctors say SVT isn\u2019t dangerous but sustained SVT is.<\/p>\n

Alexander rests with Saraya. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cSaraya\u2019s behavior was like a noise playing in my mind.<\/p>\n

\u201dIt was bugging me that she was trying to tell me something wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was confused why she was being so needy and obsessive.<\/p>\n

Kim, a former canine hydro-therapist and first-time mom, said: \u201cSaraya knew his heart rate was higher than it should\u2019ve been. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201dIt certainly added to my concern and made us go in to get checked.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she went to A&E in September for seven-month-old Alexander, Kim feared they were wasting professionals\u2019 time as he had stopped crying.<\/p>\n

Then she found out how fast his heart was beating.<\/p>\n

\u201dIt certainly added to my concern and made us go in to get checked,\u201d Kim said. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

In order to shock Alexander\u2019s heart rhythm back to normal, they had to \u201cdunk him\u201d in a large bucket filled with cold water and ice.<\/p>\n

Kim, of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, said: \u201cThey put him in and the scream was horrific, that\u2019s all I hear now.<\/p>\n

\u201dThey did it twice and his heart rate still hadn\u2019t come down.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After submerging his head for 10 seconds, Alexander\u2019s heart rate remained high, and he was put in Kim\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n

She then decided it was \u201cenough\u201d and she wanted them to try intravenous medication.<\/p>\n

Three doses of the medication finally brought his heart rate down and the family was transferred by ambulance to Poole Hospital.<\/p>\n

Three doses of the medication finally brought Alexander\u2019s heart rate down and the family was transferred by ambulance to Poole Hospital. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Kim stayed for two nights and received his Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Kim described the syndrome as \u201dan extra but [sic] of tissue in his heart, which basically means electrical pulses can get through where they shouldn\u2019t. That\u2019s when he can\u2019t calm his heart rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander now takes the beta blocker propranolol three times a day through a syringe.<\/p>\n

Alexander now takes the beta blocker propranolol three times a day through a syringe. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Kim said he \u201cknows he needs it\u201d and drinks from the syringe himself \u201chassle-free.\u201d<\/p>\n

This month, Saraya began acting different around Alexander again.<\/p>\n

Kim said: \u201cHe was in his bouncer and she was next to him, licking his hands, looking at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was in his bouncer and she was next to him, licking his hands, looking at me,\u201d Kim said. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201dMy first thought was, \u2018Oh God, are we going to go into SVT again?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

After checking his pulse, she noticed his throat looked red and took him to A&E.<\/p>\n

He was diagnosed with bacterial tonsillitis and prescribed penicillin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 100% trust Saraya,\u201d Kim said. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Kim said: \u201cI 100% trust Saraya.<\/p>\n

\u201dShe\u2019s not a trained or registered assistance dog. But to me, every opportunity I have she will be by his side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim\u2019s sister Francine introduced her to the small charity Tiny Tickers, which works to improve the early detection and care of babies with serious heart conditions, while also supporting their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kim Reynolds holds baby Alexander. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

The pair are participating in the 100-mile challenge in October to raise money for Tiny Tickers.<\/p>\n

Kim said: \u201cI didn\u2019t realize the work they did. It\u2019s become really, pardon the pun, close to my heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to a health physician to get him weighed a couple of weeks after and they had no idea what SVT was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a firstitime mom and it\u2019s been a whole experience. It\u2019s really important to raise awareness. You wonder how many babies have it and don\u2019t realize,\u201d Kim said. William Dax \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a first-time mom and it\u2019s been a whole experience. It\u2019s really important to raise awareness. You wonder how many babies have it and don\u2019t realize.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never heard of his syndrome when they scanned him. It wasn\u2019t picked up at birth or at previous hospital visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say his care at Bournemouth and Poole was faultless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m well aware some babies have much more serious heart conditions but it is just as important, and the charity helped me realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A baby\u2019s life was saved after his racing heartbeat was detected \u2013 by the family dog. Mom Kim…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900358,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[6729,7474,2681,97,8982,146793],"class_list":["post-900357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-babies","tag-dog","tag-dogs","tag-health","tag-heart","tag-hearts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}