Golden Retriever’s Owner Went into Cardiac Arrest While Sleeping. What the 'Hero' Dog Did Next Saved His Life

Polly the pup and her other owner, Hannah Cooke, were honored as 2025 CPR Heroes by the British Heart Foundation

A golden retriever helped to save her owner's life — and now she's being honored with an award for her heroism.

The pup, named Polly, noticed something was wrong with owner Adam Cooke's breathing as he slept in their home in Ireland in March 2024, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The concerned pet began barking, which alerted her other owner, Hannah Cooke, who quickly realized her husband was in cardiac arrest, she recalled to the foundation.

"We went to bed on a Monday night like normal," Hannah, 33, recalled in a video for the cardiovascular research charity. But sometime between midnight and 1 a.m., she recalled, things took a sharp turn away from normal.

She woke up to Polly's barking, she recalled, which was "alerting me to the fact that Adam was unwell, and I realized he wasn't breathing."

Hannah told BBC News that at first, she thought her husband, 37, had stopped breathing after choking before realizing he was in cardiac arrest.

She made an emergency call, and a paramedic walked her through how to care for her husband, including CPR, until the ambulance arrived. First responders showed up seven minutes later, she told the BHF, and brought her husband "straight to hospital as soon as they possibly could."

Adam, who the BHF described as a "fit and healthy runner," woke up in the hospital six days later. He has since made a full recovery, according to the foundation. "Any more minutes that went on, it would have been a very different story," his wife told the charity.

"With a cardiac arrest, everything I've learned since, it all happens in seconds, and Polly gave me those seconds," she echoed to BBC News. The golden retriever "is so in tune with Adam," she told the outlet. "After she barked, she was silent. I would say Polly knew before it was even happening. I would say Adam had just started the arrest as she barked."

Speaking with the outlet himself, Adam said he "wouldn't be here if it wasn't" for Hannah and Polly. "They are heroes," he said of the duo — and the BHF agrees.

Both of them were honored as CPR Heroes at the charity's 2025 Heart Hero Awards, which were held in London on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Adam nominated them for the honor, which goes to individuals "who bravely stepped in to help save a life from cardiac arrest," according to the BHF website.

The special night came over a year after Polly was reunited with Adam for the first time after the incident, in a moment he described to BBC News as "emotional."

"Polly is a part of the family, so I just wasn't shocked when I heard she had such a big role to play," Adam told the outlet. "I'm not going to shy away from it, I cried, I was in tears, I think she was too. She was whimpering because I think she was thinking, 'Wow, you're back home. I didn't think you'd be back here.'"

"I love her to bits," Hannah added of the hero pup. "She is the best dog in the world. Neither of us did anything special, but we did it together."