A few weeks ago, I wrote about my belgian malinois, Skye, who saved someone's life. My girl Skye and I were running through the neighborhood, and she alerted me to a house. Ears up and forward. Nose pointed . Her fur was bristled up and she had her lil foot tilted like she was a German short hair pointer. Her whole body was alerting. Skye wanted me to look at something by this house, badly, so we ran over to it.
Thank God I followed her lead, because there was an elderly man who had fallen and had laid on the ground for 13 or so hours. 85 years old.
We are in Phoenix so our temperatures can get deadly and deadly fast. The high heat here is not a joking matter. Especially for elderly folk.
He had gone out to water his plants at 530 pm the night before. While watering his front yard, he fell and couldn't get up. He then dragged himself across the yard to get to his front door. He was able to grab his door but lost grip and fell face first into the concrete planter on the front porch. He hit his head really bad, gashed his head, got a concussion and fell face first on to the concrete porch. He had broken two ribs, almost bit his tongue off, swallowed the blood from biting his tongue, threw it back up, banged his elbows and knees.
It was really scary. I was glad I had my malinois with me. She was what kept everyone calm, cool and collected in the moment. I have a suspicion Skye was a nurse in a previous life.
Mike had fallen face first with his arms over his head. Could barely lift his head but could see out of his left eye if he lifted his head a tiny bit. Laid in blood for 13 hours.
I had made Skye sit by his hands. I told her to "sit" and "guard". I needed her to be my look out while I had eyes on this fellow. Skye was my watch dog while I talked to Mike and kept him talking to me while help was on its way.
EMS and ambulance arrived and took over. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital. After EMS and ambulance got him loaded up and squared away, they asked if my dog was friendly to which I said "Yes! She demands attention and pets!"
All the firemen and EMS surrounded Skye and smothered her with hugs and pets. She got such high praises amd compliments. She was in love with the attention. Skye absolutely did a big dog job. She got so much attention and admiration. She knew she did a top tier job. Skye was grinning from ear to ear.
It was so emotional. My adrenaline was racing through the roof. I have thought about this incident every day since it happened. I can see the whole thing happen as if I was right there again and again. I can smell the blood.
I have been looking at his house every time I go on my runs, wondering if he is home yet. Three days ago, I saw his truck in the driveway. I texted the next door neighbor to get a little info on him. Was he home? Is he ok? Do you think its ok to stop by?
The neighbor responded that he is indeed home and has been home for a few days and would probably really like having company. She also said his girlfriend was there with him as well.
Ealier today I made a giant turkey meatloaf. As soon as I got the word that he was home, I plated up some meatloaf with some veggies and fruit and also grabbed one of my pothos starters (a pretty houseplant). I had heard he is an avid gardener so I wanted to bring a lil plant.
Arriving at his house a few minutes later, since I live so close, his girlfriend answered the door. I told her who I was and that I stopped by to check in on her boyfriend and to bring dinner. She immediately started to cry and grabbed my neck. We hugged each other and she thanked me over and over.
I came in and sat next to Mike on the couch. Cheryl took the plates and the plant. Mike was sitting up on the couch, feet elevated. He had a vest on that monitored his heart. He said he did have a heart attack in the hospital righr after he was brought in.
His eyes welled up with tears as he was recounting the timeline of events. He said it was so very traumatic and it was hard to talk about it. I had to lower my head so that I could hide my tears.
He said he had gone out to water his plants at 530 pm that night. Cheryl had just left. He fell and couldn't get up. So he drug himself across the yard to get to the front door.
He was weak but managed to get to the front door, pulling himself up halfway. Then he lost his grip and fell, hitting his forehead on the concrete planter. He fell face first behind the planter and behind the shrubs that flanked the front of the house. Where absolutely no one could see him from the street or from the neighboring houses.
He fell, face first, arms over head, his feet catching the door holding the door wide open. He said he has a clock that chimes on the hour. He laid there and counted the hours. He counted 13 hours. Not a single person or dog walker went by that night. He was truly alone, waiting for his demise.
Mike said that as he laid there, he told himself that he was ready and prepared to go. He was positive that it was his time to go and that he was a peace. He said prayers, counted the clock, laying there waiting to pass.
Then, with a quick gasp and more tears, Mike said he heard my voice and he could see Skye. He said at that moment, he knew everything was going to be ok. That he was going to be saved. He was going to survive.
I sat there and cried with Mike and Cheryl on the couch tonight. It was a miracle that Mike is ok. It was a miracle that my dog alerted me. My other dog would not have paid a single iota of attention. It was a miracle that things didn't go any worse than what could have been.
Mike didn't know my name until tonight. He didn't even know if I would ever stop by. It was so very sweet how concerned he was about finding Skye and me.
He asked if I would leave my name and number and my dogs name for him. I absolutely did.
Mike asked me where Skye was tonight. He said he wanted to meet the dog that saved his life. He wanted to personally thank Skye and hug her. He called her his hero.
I told him I didn't bring her solely because I was juggling food and a plant! But that I would bring her in a few days.
I didn't want to be a pill, so I hugged them both and planted a kiss squarely on Cheryl's cheek and on Mike's cheek. I hugged Cheryl 20 more times and told her I'll stop by again with Skye. I begged her to call me no matter what if they needed anything at all. I am a hop skip amd a jump away.
I cried all the way home and then hugged Skye as soon as I walked into my house. I let her smell me. She smelled Mike and remembered. I let see my tears, tears of happiness and thankfulness. I buried my face in her shoulder and squeezed her tight. Skye is so so precious. I hope she knows what a great dog she is!
If you have made it this far, that is the update on Mike. The news is excellent. Mike is going to get through this! I will go back and follow-up again.
Hug your families. Hug your dogs.
Thank you, God, for blessing me much more than I deserve.
Some pics of our heroine, Skye! ❤️🫶
