In addition to being some of our best friends, dogs are also truly amazing creatures. Because we can only see things from a limited, human perspective, we sometimes forget that there are other ways to view the world. Other animals have very different senses than we do, some of which allow them to do incredible feats that would be impossible for people. In some cases, these special abilities that dogs have can end up saving people’s lives.
That was what happened in one recent story out of Utah.
The story concerns a little girl named Sadie and her adorable Labrador named Hero.
Sadie is only four years old and was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes and Down’s Syndrome. Accordingly, Hero has become something of a companion animal for Sadie. Because of her diabetes, Hero has been trained to detect whenever there is a drop in Sadie’s blood sugar levels. Whenever this happens, Hero is supposed to alert her parents.
Still, the family found out that this ability wasn’t necessarily limited by distance.
One day, Sadie was at school when Hero started acting strangely.
According to Sadie’s mom, Michelle, he was making a lot of noise. “He’s normally a very quiet dog,” she said. “Whining is not in his protocol. But he just started whining and would not stop.” Shortly after Hero started making noise, Michelle got a text from Sadie’s teacher, Kimberly Stoneman. According to Stoneman, Hero’s instincts were right on:
“[Sadie’s mom] called me and asked if I could check her numbers and they were fine . . . then within half an hour she went down.”
Although the school was five miles away, Hero knew—before anything even happened—that Sadie was in trouble!
Fortunately, the teacher was able to get Sadie the support she needed.
Still, everyone was amazed at Hero’s prescient abilities to look out for their daughter. According to Sadie’s family, they’ve begun thinking of the entire situation in almost spiritual terms. “I’ve always called Sadie our little angel,” Sadie’s father said, “and I think Hero was a little angel sent into our lives to watch over her.” Perhaps above all else, this story is yet another reminder of just how amazing our canine companions really are—and we surely just have more to learn.
Thanks for all your help, Hero!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
