A MONTROSE woman rushed to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, in the early hours of the morning has praised staff there for exceeding her expectations by not only ensuring she was well looked after, but also her dog Treun.

One morning, animal lover Irene Dye woke up suffering stomach pains causing a stabbing sensation.

Having never been one to suffer many ailments, Irene, who is in her 70s, contacted her GP as the pain became worse as the day progress-ed.

After an examination, the doctor decided her symptoms signalled a serious problem and called for an ambulance to transfer her to Ninewells Hospital where she would require emergency treatment.

Irene lives with her dog Treun and she phoned her neighbour and friend Sheila Hayton to come to her home to look after the 10-year-old cocker spaniel.

“It all happened so quickly,” Irene said. “The ambulance was called for at about 6pm and took only 10 minutes to arrive.

“It turned out that my bowel had been pushing through to my stomach and that I had a perforated ulcer, which required me to be operated on immediately.

“I have never been ill in hospital for 40 or 50 years and had never been to Ninewells for treatment. The hospital staff were all very nice but I thought I would only be in for a night or so.

“When I woke up in Ward 9 after the procedure I was told I would need to be kept in for a few days to recover.

“I mentioned to one of the staff nurses who was particularly nice to me that Treun would need looked after to which she responded, ‘No problem, I’ll sort it out right away.’ ”

She returned later to tell Irene that she had organised for Treun to be picked up and taken to Kinaldie Kennels close to her home.

Irene said, “What great service from the staff at Ninewells.

“The nurse even called the kennels the next day to make sure that Treun had settled in and that he was eating well. They were even walking him five times a day.”

She added, “After a week, I was discharged and able to return home.

“The kennels kept Treun for a couple of days until I was well enough to look after him properly and they even dropped him off.

Irene thanked medical and nursing staff at Ninewells, as well as the social work team who helped in organising the accommodation for Treun.

“This is more than I could have ever expected.

“I never for a second thought they would go out of their way to do something like that.

“I cannot thank them enough. I take my hat off to the staff there and have been telling all my friends that.”