#20. The Beginning
Our story begins when Alhanna Butler and her partner Ricky decided to get a beautiful Akita Inu to add to their little family. They had been wanting to adopt a pooch for quite a while, until they finally decided to take the step.
Named Keola, she seemed to be the ideal older sister for the baby that Alhanna was expecting. However, little did they know just about how special Keola would be.
#19. An Early Sign
By the time they adopted Keona, the couple was also trying to become parents. For months they tried but the tests kept coming back negative. But just while Alhanna was trying to get pregnant, the couple noticed that Keola started acting strangely.
On one of those nights, Alhanna got upset at yet another negative test, so she decided to relax by going out with Ricky. But when they came back home, they found this.
#18. Surprise!
When the couple came back, they noticed that the house was a complete wreck! But soon enough, they figured out that Keola had been looking around in the bin for the discarded pregnancy test.
The dog nudged the test at them and to their disbelief, they noticed that the second line in the test had fainted, which meant that she and her fiance were about to become parents!
#17. Changes
The couple was over the moon with Keola. It was clear that she was a very special dog and now, not only did the couple have their extraordinary story to share with their close friends and family but also, they had amazing news about Alhanna's pregnancy!
It's needless to say that Alhanna's friends didn't believe a word she was saying at first. How on earth had her dog realized she was pregnant? How had she misread the test's results?
#16. Something Is Wrong
Alhanna and her partner were puzzled by the turn of events, but they were completely thrilled. However, soon, the couple noticed another very strange thing. While Alhanna, Ricky and their friends were ecstatic about the news of the baby, Keola seemed to be less joyous than usual ever since Alhanna's pregnancy began.
She was acting a bit strange and not being in the mood to play as much. The couple felt that their dog was trying to tell them something, but they had no idea what it could possibly be.
#15. Signs
Soon enough, things started getting stranger and stranger. Keola's behavior went from just being less eager than usual, to going to Alhanna's belly, nudging it and then crying.
But the couple was at loss; they couldn't decipher what their dog was trying to tell them. However, it felt like Keola was attempting hard to notify her parents about something.
#14. Concerns
Ricky started getting actually worried when he realized that this wasn't just a case of jealousy. At the beginning, they thought that maybe Keola had sensed that she wouldn't be the only precious being to her parents. In fact, that's a pretty common behavior in dogs.
But now, given Keola's developing behavioral pattern, Ricky noticed that something was wrong, and it was worth investigating further.
#13. Figuring It Out
Step by step, Alhanna and Ricky attempted to decipher exactly what Keola was trying to tell them. The dog seemed to be somewhat obsessed with Alhanna's belly. She would go to her, snuggle and lie on top of her stomach.
The couple was getting worried that Keola was being too possessive. Especially because, at this point, there had been no complications at all with the pregnancy.
#12. Things Start Making Sense
It wasn't until the 18th week of pregnancy that the couple started questioning whether they were wrong to think that Keola was simply being possessive. But what happened, exactly?
Alhanna started experiencing very sharp pain on her lower back. She was a healthy woman that had never felt such severe pain in her back and to make things worse, the agony didn't dissipate.
#11. Getting Worse
At this point, the family was growing very concerned. They tried asking their past pregnant friends if they had experienced such pains before. Alhanna hoped to find somebody that could help her lessen the pain she was feeling.
However, all of her friends pointed out that such pains weren't normal. At this point, it really did feel like Keola was trying to tell them something desperately. What was wrong?
#10. Doctor's Office
None of their friends or family had any helpful advice. In fact, some of them went as far as telling Alhanna that if she couldn't handle a little bit of back pain, then she wouldn't be able to survive motherhood.
However, the pain got so bad that the couple decided to pay a visit to the hospital. At this point, they were very concerned that something was wrong with Alhanna's pregnancy.
#9. Lack Of Help
While at this point you might be thinking that the visit to the doctor changed everything... it didn't. While they wanted her to be comfortable during her pregnancy, they seemed to think that her pain was just a bit more intense than the usual back pain.
They tried to justify her back pain with stress and weight gain, but neither Alhanna nor Ricky were convinced with such an explanation. They were convinced that there had to be another reason!
#8 Next Level
To make matters worse, Keola's behavior had hit a new level. She would just stare at Alhanna for hours, and then switching from staring at her owner to nudging her belly and crying.
Clearly, Keola knew something that nobody else knew, not even the hospital. Amidst such a situation, Alhanna suddenly had an idea about what her dog was trying to tell her.
#7. Social Media
This time, instead of just asking people they physically knew, the couple resorted to social media to find an answer to their growing concerns. Alhanna described everything; from Keola's strange behavior to her possessive attitude.
She was desperate to get some sort of answer more helpful than what the hospital had given her. And sometimes, people find answers in the least expected of places. Luckily, the response was overwhelming.
#6. A Mother's Love
The Butlers were so thankful for all the support and encouragement they received on social media. However, the advice that helped the most was from the most important woman in Alhanna's life: her mother.
She suggested her daughter to listen to their dog and to be more persistent at the hospital. So the couple set up another appointment. Little did they know the terrifying news they were about to receive.
#5. The Collapse
The couple couldn't have chosen a better time to go back to the hospital because the moment they got there, Alhanna collapsed. God knows what would've happened had they waited a few more days.
It was clear that her back pain hadn't been ordinary and that her and her baby's lives were in grave danger. All this time, their beloved Keola had been trying hard to tell them that Alhanna's pregnancy was dangerous.
#4. Just In Time
After running several tests, the doctors were finally able to tell Alhanna something that made her pain make sense. Alhanna found out that she was suffering from a strange kidney infection that had started a few months earlier.
Slowly, this infection had been deteriorating her kidneys and had started to move along to other organs. This meant that the infection could pose a threat to the baby's life if it wasn't treated on time.
#3. Keola Saved The Day
Much to the couple's surprise, doctors told them that they had come at the perfect moment. If Alhanna had not been at the hospital when she collapsed, then it might have been far too late.
But the furry pooch hadn't saved her owner's life just yet. Alhanna's pregnancy was still at risk, and now, her fate was in the hands of the doctors.
#2. A Very Delicate Situation
Given how advanced the infection was, doctors had to go to the lab to create a special antibiotic that would fight the bacterium. To make things worse, they had to figure out a way to give her the drug without harming the baby.
The situation was very delicate and Alhanna was admitted to the hospital for 4 weeks, where she was given morphine to ease the pain. But fortunately, she would undergo a quick and steady recovery!
#1. Happily Ever After
While at the hospital, Alhanna had wanted to go back home as soon as possible to let Keola know she was okay. So when the day came to go home, Keola showed extraordinary behavior. Not only was the dog ecstatic, but she was also very careful not to jump at her fragile owner.
The treatment for the infection had worked wonders and Alhanna was able to deliver a baby with no further complications! This baby was sure lucky to have such a caring and special big sister, Keola.