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Wonder dog William celebrates birthday
THEY say a dog is a man's best friend and William the Jack Russell has offered up a lifetime of friendship to his beloved owner Rita Kempton – now she is repaying him for his loyalty.
It is almost 12 years to the day that 'William the wonder dog' hit the headlines when he and Rita were involved in a serious crash - and Lassie-like William bolted from her upturned car and beat the ambulance to the hospital.
"I absolutely adore William. On the day of the crash, I was heart-broken when I thought I would never see him again, and I will stay loyal to him until the day he dies," said Rita, of Cavendish Drive, Lea.
On 20th January 1998, Rita was travelling down to Essex to see her mum when their car hit a lorry and spun across the motorway.
The car crashed into the central barrier before spinning back into the road and colliding with the lorry once again, before flipping over on the grass verge.
With the shock of the crash, William bolted out of the passenger-side window and dodged six lanes of motorway traffic.
"While I waited with the police for the ambulance I even wanted them to get a search party together to try to find him."
"I just couldn't believe it when half-an-hour later, he just turned up at the hospital - which was about a 15 minute drive away. I wouldn't believe the police woman who told me until she brought him to see me."
"I had to be treated for whiplash and muscle spasms, but really we were both just so lucky to be alive."
"One driver who was on the road that day wrote to me to say how glad she was that he had made his way back to me."
But he survived and they went on to spend many happy years together and he was even feisty enough to try to fight off much bigger dogs if they looked like they were threatening Rita's safety.
"He had nerves of steel for a little dog. He was affected by the accident though and he didn't like the sound of lorries - he used to get really agitated and want to fight them.
Now, William is blind, deaf and suffers from a heart condition, and Rita spends everyday tending to his every need, and making him as comfortable as possible.
She makes sure William takes tablets everyday and even puts him in a pushchair and wheels him over to Lea Park so he can get outside and get some exercise with the walk home.
"Some people think I'm mad when they see me and motorists sometimes slow down to have a look. Some people have joked about me having a very ugly baby!"
"When he was younger, he used to be very energetic and we'd go on hour-long walks through the woods but he's too old these days."
Today William is celebrating his 15th birthday and mum-of-three Rita is planning to bake him a cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Wiliam' just like she does every year.
"He has been a really big part of our family. We get him presents for Christmas too. He used to love eating pigs' ears but he can't have them now. This Christmas, my daughter got him some chocolate buttons instead."
She added: "When William goes, I don't think I will ever be able to replace him. I just don't think there could ever be another dog like him."
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Weather for Gainsborough
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
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