Foreman

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Foreman was born to be a life-saving service dog. A true hero that has helped save the life of his human, Sinéad, numerous times since being placed with her in November 2019.

Sinéad has an exceptionally rare and life-threatening condition called Parkes Weber Syndrome, affecting fewer than 800 people worldwide. Due to the rarity of Parkes Weber Syndrome, there aren’t many treatment options for those who live with it. This degenerative and life-threatening condition impacts Sinead’s muscular, skeletal, vascular, and lymphatic systems. Sinéad lives with chronic pain, spasticity, and limited mobility, the daily risk of life-threatening internal and external bleeds, blood clots developing in her deep veins and her lungs, as well as chronic open wounds. Her condition requires extended IV treatments to manage infections, and she is at risk of developing heart failure.

With special training by MSAR SERVICE DOGS in Winnipeg and Dog School in Israel, Foreman is skilled at supporting Sinead with mobility assistance, medical detection, and response. He has saved Sinéad’s life numerous times by responding to spontaneous bleeds and detecting life-threatening blood clots and infections before doctors or medical tests could.

One chilly November night, Sinéad was awoken from her sleep by licks and nudges from Foreman, who was alerting her to bleeding from arteriovenous malformations (also known as hemorrhaging) in her foot. Foreman quickly sprang into action and retrieved her first aid kit, with bandages, gauze, and a tourniquet, from the shelf beside her bed, as well as her phone, so she could call for help. Without Foreman, it’s very possible that Sinéad would have bled to death in her sleep, or while trying to get help for herself.

Since being paired together, Foreman has also detected serious infections that have required hospitalization, as well as bilateral pulmonary embolisms. Both, if left untreated, could have been fatal. Foreman also regularly detects and alerts Sinéad to dangerous blood pressure and heart rate fluctuations, that if undetected would result in fainting.

Foreman is a one-of-a-kind service dog, performing life-saving acts each & every day. For this, we are very proud to recognize Foreman’s heroism in the Purina Animal Hall of Fame.