A family in the Woodlands, Texas area adopted a border collie named Axel from a local shelter. Not long after Axel settled into his loving family, he ran and alerted Amanda Tanner and her husband their teenage son, Gabriel, was having a stroke. The family is convinced the one-year-old pup had been sent to them for a reason.
Axel had been one of a litter of nine puppies found by a rescue group in Houston, Texas. Nobody wanted to adopt him until the Tanner family chose him. Was it fate or incredibly good luck?
According to Today, the healthy high school senior had suffered a medical emergency overnight. No one was aware of the situation, except Axel. It had been at 5:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning when the dog jumped onto Amanda’s bed, insistent they get up. When they were slow to get out of bed, Axel continued pawing at them to get their attention.
When Amanda’s husband got up, he went downstairs and offered to let Axel outside, but that wasn’t what the dog wanted. He stopped in front of the bedroom door of their son and refused to move. When the teen’s dad entered his son’s room, he immediately knew something was wrong; his son was awake, but he had been slurring his speech and had been unable to move his right side.
The teen was rushed to the hospital where doctors diagnosed Gabriel with having had a stroke. No doubt, Axel played a crucial role in alerting the family, allowing the boy to be treated quickly; his family and doctors all agreed.
Gabriel’s stroke had been caused by the tear of an artery that delivers blood to the brain. The teen’s arterial dissection was spontaneous which is one of the leading causes of stroke in people under 30.
No one knows how Axel knew Gabriel was having a stroke, but this amazing dog certainly played a major role in saving the teen’s life. Now almost two months later, Gabriel is well on his way to a complete recovery, and the gratitude goes to a rescue puppy no one wanted except for this family lucky enough to have chosen him.
He’s now tasked with following Gabriel everywhere.
He’s now sleeping with Gabriel more, and Gabriel’s doors are open so he can go in and out. He’s always been very sensitive to everything and everybody’s emotions at home.
Amanda on Today show
Will we ever completely understand our dogs? There sure is a lot we don’t know, and how these amazing canines benefit our lives – and save lives too!
(Photos via Youtube and Amanda Tanner)
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That’s amazing!!! I have been looking for a service dog to help me. It’s incredible what they can do😀😀😀
I wish the entire family (people and furbabies) many years of happiness and good health!!!