How a family's 13 stone dog saved a boy's eyesight

It has long been known that dogs can sniff out cancer. Now, it seems, they can sense when a person has problems with their sight.

The parents of a visually-impaired youngster believe their huge family dog saved their son from going blind - by showing them he had a dangerous condition with his eyes.

Mark Cannon, five, and his 13 stone pet Alfie have been inseparable since he was born but his family could never explain why the dog always walked on Mark's right.

Despite being baffled by Alfie's unusual habit, the family had Mark's eyes checked and a school optometrist diagnosed him with astigmatism in his right eye last April - meaning he was almost blind in that eye.

It was then Mark's mum and dad Sharlene and Mark Snr, both 42, realised the giant Dogue de Bordeaux always stood to his right in a bid to act as a guide.

Mark is now wearing a patch over his good left eye to improve the sight in his right one  Photo: Mercury Press

Eye doctors told the family Mark could have gone completely blind if they had not caught the condition when they did.

And Alfie even used his doctor's instinct to sniff out cancer in the family's other Dogue de Bordeaux Cass, who sadly died last month aged 11.

Mrs Cannon, from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, said: "It's incredible to think that Mark had this problem with his eye since birth and Alfie was the only one who spotted it. If it hadn't been caught when it was, he could have gone blind.

"They've grown up together and we always just thought it was a funny coincidence that Alfie would only sit or walk on one side of him.

"We never thought much more of it. Even when they sat on the couch together, Alfie would always prop himself to Mark's right.

"Mark definitely owes a lot to Alfie. It's like Alfie has superpowers and knows when there's something wrong"

Sharlene Cannon

"When he saw the optometrist, straight away they noticed Mark couldn't see out of his right eye because it was so blurred.

"Basically, the signals between his right eye and his brain weren't working. If they hadn't spotted it when they did, it could have affected his left eye over time and he would have gone totally blind.

"They have to spot it before someone turns seven or it's nearly impossible to correct.

"Mark never mentioned it because he didn't know any different. It's mad when the dog understands what's going on before the humans.

"Mark definitely owes a lot to Alfie. It's like Alfie has superpowers and knows when there's something wrong.

"They have this unbelievable bond. Alfie's instinct is incredible. He knows when something is wrong with Mark before we do, even when he's just feeling unwell."

Straight after his diagnosis Mark, who has an eight-year-old brother, James, began wearing patches on his good left eye in order to strengthen his weakened right one.

When the defect was spotted by eyesight experts, his parents were stunned and realised Alfie had been telling them this all along.

Mrs Cannon, a student social worker, said: "There was that realisation when suddenly it all made sense. Alfie was always there by his right-hand side to guide him.

"We call them the twins because they're inseparable, and this just proves they have that telepathic relationship.

"They have this unbelievable bond. Alfie's instinct is incredible. He knows when something is wrong with Mark before we do, even when he's just feeling unwell"

Charlene Cannon

"He has to wear patches now on his good eye to try to improve his bad one, but Alfie still walks on his right. Even if you try to walk him on the other side, he will push you until he's on Alfie's right.

"It doesn't end there. Since August last year we noticed Alfie would sniff at the back legs of our other dog Cass.

"We took Cass to the vet in December and she was diagnosed with a tumour in her back leg, exactly where Alfie had been sniffing and licking.

"We couldn't believe it. I think he was trying to lick away the cancer. He certainly knew about it before anyone else.

"Cass had chemotherapy but she passed away in January after having a massive stroke. Since then, Alfie refuses to eat and he's lost 10kg."

Despite his astigmatism, Mark plays football every Saturday and his vision is improving, with regular hospital check-ups and eyesight tests.

Alfie - who has a host of internet fans for his huge head and 36-inch neck - won't even let Mark go to school without jumping in the car with him.

Mrs Cannon, who got Alfie as a puppy in 2011, said: "Alfie's incredibly protective of Mark. When Mark started nursery, Alfie demanded to come in the car with us to drop him off and pick him up.

"As soon as he came back, they would sit and have lunch together. It's frightening how protective he is of Mark.

"There was a time years ago when my auntie was here and she was tickling Mark. He started giggling and Alfie ran flying into the back garden, head-butted my auntie and stood in front of Mark so she couldn't get near him.

"He couldn't tell the difference between laughing and crying so his first instinct was to defend Mark.

"Mark's right eye is getting stronger now but it's too early to say if it will follow him into adulthood. His left eye is fine and he wears glasses now so hopefully it won't affect him too badly."

Woman Hijacks Bus After Being Told Not To Smoke

A woman who was told to stop smoking on a New York bus hijacked the vehicle for a short joyride - until another bus managed to block her path.

Kevin Ortiz, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the driver of the M101 bus asked her to put out her cigarette or get off the bus on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

However, she refused and became angry during the incident on Tuesday.

The driver stepped off the vehicle to help transfer passengers to another bus and the woman then leapt into the driver's seat.

She drove off for about four blocks before a third bus pulled up across a road to block her.

A dispatcher managed to reach through the window and pull a switch to stop the bus.

The woman, named by the New York Times as Charita Headley, was fired from her job as a bus driver last July for extended absences, according to the paper.

She has been charged with unauthorised use of a motor vehicle, the New York Daily News reported, and taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Meteor Caught On Camera Above Scotland

A meteor shower has been caught on camera streaking through the sky over Scotland.

Police received a large number of calls on Monday evening - with many people reporting that the sky had been lit up by a "fireball".

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland added: "Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook.

"We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower."

Several people were able to see it burn up in the atmosphere above Perthshire.

Jenni Morrison was driving home from work on the A944 from Westhill to Alford, Aberdeenshire, at 6.45pm when she spotted the fireball light up the sky.

Speaking to Sky News she said: "I thought what the hell was that! My son said it was a meteorite.

"It was like a light switch going on and off. Very surreal moment.

"I knew it wasn't lightning and it was kind of scary and amazing at the same time."

Twitter was abuzz with speculation as to what the bright white streak could have been.

Some suggested it was an astronomical event, others thought military activity caused the display, and there was also a far-fetched theory that British astronaut Tim Peake could have been involved.

Steve Thomson tweeted: "Big white flash and some sort of meteor in the night sky. Looked really close as well. #endoftheworld #armageddon."

The Ministry of Defence has said it will not discuss whether the spectacle was connected to any ongoing operations in the area.

Omagh Bombing: Murder Charges Are Dropped

Seamus Daly will walk free because there is insufficient evidence to link him to the car bomb attack, which killed 29.

Murder charges against the only remaining Omagh bombing suspect have been dropped by prosecutors.

Seamus Daly was charged with killing 29 people, including a pregnant woman carrying twins, in the 1998 car bomb attack by the Real IRA. Fifteen of the dead were under the age of 21.

The case against the 45-year-old, who has been in custody since April 2014, appeared to collapse last month when the prosecution's star witness contradicted himself during a pre-trial hearing.

Daly will now walk free after all of the charges were withdrawn on the basis of insufficient evidence. He has always denied any involvement in the bombing.

Daly was the only person facing criminal proceedings linked to the bombing

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was among those killed in the explosion, has expressed outrage that victims' families were kept in the dark over the prosecution's collapse - and claimed they "have been failed once again" by the criminal justice system.

He added: "We just feel this was the last chance for justice for Omagh, and that is now over. It's very difficult to deal with, and we have to meet with our legal team to discuss the best way forward."

Video: Omagh Bomb Murder Case Collapses

Outside court in Ballymena, he expressed hope that the victims' families will be able to meet with the Justice Minister to discuss the "serious issues" that have arisen during 18 years of failed attempts to secure a criminal conviction.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Gallagher also renewed his calls for a public inquiry into the Omagh bombing, which he has been demanding for a number of years.

In 2009, Daly was among four men who were successfully sued in a civil case mounted by bereaved families, and a judge found he was liable for the attack.

At the time, they were ordered to pay £1.6m in damages to victims and their relatives, but that money is yet to be recovered.

Sky's Ireland Correspondent, David Blevins, said the criminal case had always been complicated for prosecutors - as they had been working with their colleagues in the Irish Republic to obtain mobile phone records from the time.

Daly's lawyer, Peter Corrigan, has said the prosecution's case was built on a "house of straw" - and added his client is planning to take legal action over his two years' incarceration awaiting a trial.

The Omagh atrocity, which came four months after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, was the single deadliest atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Spanish exchange students and three generations of the same family were also among those killed in the attack, which unfolded on a busy shopping street on a sunny afternoon in the height of summer. More than 300 others were also injured.

US Navy Seal honoured for Afghan hostage raid

Image copyr

A Navy Seal who helped rescue an American civilian being held hostage in Afghanistan has been awarded the nation's highest military honour.

Edward Byers is the first active duty member to receive the Medal of Honor in four decades, for his role in the raid.

President Barack Obama called Mr Byers a "consummate, quiet professional" during a ceremony at the White House.

Mr Byers entered the building where the hostage was after another Navy Seal was shot and killed.

Dilip Joseph, an American doctor, had been abducted, along with his interpreter.

The US Department of Defense has said Mr Byers, a senior chief in the Navy, threw himself on top of Mr Joseph to shield him from gunfire.

At the same time, he was pinning a guard against a wall with a hand "around the enemy's throat". Another Navy Seal then shot the guard.

Mr Obama said the ceremony is a "rare opportunity" for the country to meet military members like those from Mr Byers' elite Seal Team Six.

Profile: Seal Team Six

"People may not always see them, we may not always hear of their success, but they are there in the thick of the fight, in the dark of night, achieving their mission," said Mr Obama.

Mr Byers said he will continue serving in the US Navy as a Seal.

"I'm going to take whatever job or mission is next for me," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Mr Byers, the sixth Navy Seal to receive a Medal of Honor, grew up in Ohio and has been deployed overseas 11 times, in nine combat tours.

Geneva Motor Show: Supercars set to roar off the block

Maybe it is Switzerland's neutrality that persuades the motor industry's big guns to turn out in such force for the Geneva Motor Show.

This year, the show is being dominated by the launch of a clutch of supercars, sports cars and luxury motors from the likes of Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.

While car shows in Detroit and Frankfurt vie for importance, they tend to be dominated by the host countries' companies.

It's Geneva's level playing field that the good and the great who run the industry find attractive - well, that and possibly the chance to squeeze in some skiing.

So the 86th Geneva Motor Show starts this week with the industry's mood much improved.

After years of painful restructuring and the near-death of several companies, motor manufacturing has climbed out of recession.

European car sales last year were 14.2 million, 9.2% higher than in 2014, though still below levels before the economic crisis.

And 2016 has got off to a good start, with sales up 6.3% in January year-on-year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Image copyrightFerrari

Image captionFerrari's GTC4 Lusso is aimed at the family consumer

There has been much debate, especially during the bad times, about whether spending millions of euros and dollars on motor show car launches is worth it.

In the era of social media, YouTube and the iPad, some people argue that motor shows are less important for getting the message across.

And with today's cars as much about technical wizardry as performance and design, marketing departments are increasingly diverting some of their budgets to tech events like Las Vegas's Consumer Electronics Show.

Exotica

Yet, there are few signs at this Geneva show that carmakers are rowing back. The list of product launches is long, as is the showcasing of new technologies, concepts and curiosities.

Analyst Tim Urquhart, from IHS, thinks the show will be less about themes, and more about "the European industry taking care of business, coming up with compelling product that will bring buyers into showrooms and maintain the current positive sales trend."

Geneva has a reputation for debuting the exotic, and this year does not disappoint. Take a bow, the Bugatti Chiron.

For petrol heads, the launch of Bugatti's successor to its Veyron supercar will provide the show's wow factor.

Image copyrightThinkstock

Image captionBugatti has named its latest supercar after racing driver Louis Chiron

Jeremy Clarkson described the Veyron thus: "It has rendered everything I've ever said about any other car obsolete. It's rewritten the rule book, moved the goalposts and in the process, given Mother Nature a bloody nose." The Chiron is Bugatti's attempt to improve on it.

Details were being kept under wraps until the official unveiling today. But to beat the Veyron, the Chiron needs to do 100km/h in under 2.7 seconds and have a top speed of more than 424kmh (264mph). It's all road legal - and yours for about $2.5m (£1.8m; €2.3m).

Happy birthday Mr Lamborghini

Back in the real world (if that's the right phrase), Ferrari is debuting two cars, the California T Handling Speciale and the GTC4 Lusso four-seater. The latter is pitched at the younger family man (and woman). The kids should enjoy doing the 100km/h in 3.4 seconds.

Meanwhile, Ferrari's near-neighbour Lamborghini celebrates the birth of its founder 100 years ago with the unveiling of the Centenario. Lamborghini has been promising an all-new car, not a tweak to an existing model, so aficionados have been getting excited.

Image copyrightMorgan

Image captionNot a supercar, but still notable: even niche UK manufacturer Morgan is going green

However, if you've got a spare €2m (£1.5m), look elsewhere. Only 40 are being made - and they were all sold two months ago.

Another hotly-anticipated debut is Aston Martin's DB11, a replacement for the DB9 (the DB10 moniker was skipped because it was used in James Bond's last film, Spectre).

'Profit generator'

Last year, Aston's boss Andy Palmer hinted that the company might address complaints that each new generation of cars was starting to look alike.

Image copyrightMaserati

Image captionSportscar maker Maserati is making a bold move into a new market with the Levante

That's sparked a lot of speculation about the DB11's design. A few spy shots of a camouflaged DB11s have aired on social media, but nothing official has so far been released.

Look out, too, for Maserati's entry into the crowded market for sports utility vehicles. If Geneva underlines any trend, it's the seemingly unstoppable growth in SUVs.

Audi, Seat, Skoda are among a string of manufacturers displaying new SUV products. Maserati's Levante is pitched at the top of the market, with the Porsche Cayenne in its sights.

It's a big diversion for the Italian sportscar firm, but it follows other luxury carmakers, including Jaguar and Bentley, into the SUV market.

"Maserati's Levante is an important model for the brand," says Mr Urquhart. "It is needed as a volume and profit generator, and to bolster the brand's credentials as a serious competitor to Porsche."

There are reports that Maserati is working on a plug-in hybrid engine, another example of how alternative technologies are moving up the industry's value chain.

In fact, "green tech" will be everywhere at Geneva.

Image copyrightRimac

Image captionRimac's computer controlled system allows each wheel to independently accelerate or decelerate depending on handling and driving conditions

Five years after a small Croatian company, Rimac, revealed its all-electric Concept One supercar, the firm is unveiling a production version. The car gets 1,073bhp from four electric motors, and a top speed of 221mph - making it the fastest electric car on the planet, Rimac claims.

Hydrogen

At the other end of the design scale, the UK's boutique manufacturer Morgan is showing its EV3 electric three-wheeler. The technology was developed with the help of a £6m UK government grant. The car has a range of about 120 miles per charge, and with a price tag of £30,000.

Geneva will also see a big push of hydrogen technology. Honda is showing its Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle, Toyota its Mirai.

The fuel cell uses oxygen and hydrogen, producing electricity, heat and water vapour as by-products - and it clearly has big backers, but many people are sceptical that this will win out over rival technologies.

Just last week, Dieter Zetsche, boss of Daimler, which is working on battery electric and fuel cell cars, said that the former technology was likely to win out because charging technology and infrastructure was fast improving.

Image copyrightRenault

Image captionAway from the supercar glamour, the new Scenic could mark one of the show's most significant launches

Of course, there will be plenty of more mainstream stuff at the show, including the launch of the fourth-generation Renault Scenic.

MPVs were the great sales success story of the 1990s, but the popularity waned with the rise of SUV and so-called crossover models.

Can the Scenic make us fall in love again with MPVs?

Amid all the supercar glamour and technological hype, it could well be that it is this latest variant of Renault's segment-leading family car that becomes the lasting sales success to come out of the show.