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Labradoodle saves owner after ravine fall

A Labradoodle is being hailed as a real-life Lassie after coming to his owner's rescue.

Maurice Holder, 73, was walking along the River Camel in Cornwall with his dog when the bank gave way and he fell 40 feet down a ravine.

When Holder regained consciousness 15 minutes later, water was rising around him. He had six broken ribs and had a head injury.

His dog, a Labradoodle named Monty, was at his side.

Monty helped lead his injured owner up the bank to safety, then took off for the nearby Borough Arms pub where he barked until a customer paid him attention.

"Monty got me to level ground and then I just lay down to get my breath back and as I did Monty ran away," Holder, a grandfather of eight, told the Telegraph.

"He came back around 15 minutes later with a nice gentleman who helped me back to the car and an ambulance came."

Paramedics took Holder to Royal Cornwall hospital where he was treated for head injuries, broken ribs and cuts and bruises on his back. He was released two days later.

"Monty is absolutely the perfect pet. I wouldn't say he is always the best behaved but he is loyal and that is what matters — man's best friend," Holder said of the 11-year-old canine.