Alzheimer's sufferer rescued from ravine after falling in and spending the night there - with her faithful dog by her side

A rescue dog was found staying faithfully by the side of her elderly owner, who suffers from Alzheimer's, for 15 hours after she fell down a ravine. Duchess, a brown Doberman, stayed overnight with Dorothy Schnabel, 68, through the entire ordeal. Mrs Schnabel and her husband, Richard, adopted Duchess three years ago from a local shelter.

On Tuesday afternoon Mrs Schnabel left her home to walk Duchess. She was not found until 10am the following day with her faithful pet sitting next to her. 'It wouldn’t leave her side,' Mrs Schnabel’s neighbour Michael Britt told The Charlotte Observer.

Mrs Schnabel's husband Richard had come home in the evening and called the police after realising his wife had not returned. A missing person's alert was issued, with particular urgency because of her Alzheimer's. Rescuers in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, eventually found her with help of a Highway Patrol helicopter.

[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]