People often say we don’t deserve dogs because of their wholesome character, but that’s not always true. Some owners are completely deserving of their dog’s love, just like this grandmother from Glendale, California.
11 years ago, Gwendola Johnson, 88, adopted a stray dog and named him Sandy. Ever since she got him, the rescue pup has never left her side. The dog repays her love and care by keeping her company and making sure that she’s always safe.
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Recently, Sandy was able to prove just how good of a dog he is. When Johnson encountered a possibly life-threatening situation, the pup quickly came to her rescue and had enough smarts to take action.
Johnson, who lived alone, recently suffered a fall in her home. She said she walked out her front door, tripped on something, and fell to the ground. Though she wasn’t seriously hurt, the elderly woman realized she couldn’t get up on her own no matter how much she tried.
Her house was located on a steep hill, so no one could see her on the ground and hear her cries for help. Feeling weak and helpless, Johnson lay on the floor for an hour. Thankfully, Sandy was there to keep her company and help her stay calm.
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Finally, hope came when Johnson heard the familiar sound of the garbage trucks on the street below. In the footage captured by her Ring doorbell camera, a sanitation worker can be seen dragging her trash receptacle up the curb to her backdoor. However, he still couldn’t see her or hear her call for help.
“When the sanitation worker walked up the driveway, Sandy saw him,” she recalled. “I said, ‘Go get him!’”
And that’s what her faithful companion did. Wagging his tail, Sandy approached the sanitation worker, Kirk White, and barked at him. She kept running around in circles, beckoning him to follow her. Thankfully, he understood the message.
“The way he was barking, like ‘I have something to show you — come follow me this way…there’s something I want you to see,’” White said.
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The sanitation worker followed Sandy around the house, and the dog led her to the porch where his owner fell. Upon seeing Johnson on the ground, White immediately helped her up and checked if she had any injuries.
“She was on the floor, unable to get up,” White told KTLA 5. “I know it was very hot that Friday… seeing someone in the sun, that wasn’t right at all.”
He also stuck around to make sure the woman was fine.
Even before Sandy “called” him, White said he had already sensed that something was off when he saw that the dog wasn’t at his usual spot in the window.
“This time she was sitting outside so I knew something was wrong,” he said.
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Cheryl Malvar, Johnson’s granddaughter, said they couldn’t help but get emotional upon watching the video footage.
“We all cried when we saw the video. Sandy did a good job,” she said.
She’s also grateful to White for the vigilance he showed when he went to check on her grandma.
“Kirk actually made an effort. Not everybody does. He investigated and he was aware enough to know it was off,” Malvar said. “We love him. He’ll always have friends here.”
On the other hand, White believes what he did was something that anyone in his position would have done.
“Just helping another human, that’s what we’re supposed to do,” he said.
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The incident also made him wish he had a dog like Sandy, saying that “we can learn something from animals.”
As for Johnson, she’s not surprised by Sandy’s intelligence and reliability. After all, they’ve been best friends for over a decade.
“He’s a good dog — he’s always a good dog,” she said.
Watch the video below to learn more about this story.
We hope this loyal pup was rewarded with special treats and lots of belly rubs for his heroic deed!
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