The Dog-tometrist will see you now...

Alfie, the five-year-old 13st Dogue de Bordeaux, has been credited with saving the sight of his young owner after displaying some odd behaviour.

Last year, five-year-old Mark Cannon’s parents noticed that Alfie was sitting on Mark’s right hand and walked on his right side in a similar fashion to that of a guide dog.

Mark’s parents, Sharlene and Mark Cannon senior, decided to get their son’s eyes tested and a school optometrist discovered significant astigmatism in his right eye. Mark is now wearing a patch over his left eye to improve his vision on the left side.

Mark’s mother said: ‘It’s incredible to think that he 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.’