Good boy! Hero dog in Glendale gets help for owner during medical emergency

Happy National Dog Day! The story of this hero dog is the perfect example of why we're celebrating man's best friend today.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Glendale hero dog gets help for owner's medical emergency
A hero dog helped summon help from a Glendale sanitation worker when his elderly owner fell outside on a hot day.

GLENDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- Today is National Dog Day and to celebrate, we are spotlighting a dog that not only showed his loyalty, but also his sharp instincts, when his elderly owner found herself in need of help.

Home surveillance video shows when Sandy saved the day.

His owner had fallen and couldn't get back up. Sandy's barking and gesturing got the attention of Glendale sanitation worker Kirk White, who knew something was wrong.

"The way he was barking and he would look to the left like I have something to show you," said White.

Kirk was working his normal rounds when he saw, and then followed Sandy and found 88-year-old Gwendola Morgan Johnson sitting in the hot sun in the front yard.

"The minute I saw him he got him and he was awful nice," said Johnson.

Kirk helped Johnson, but they both know Sandy is the real hero of this story. The dog is 11 years old. Johnson found him as a stray, but thinks of him as her guardian angel.

'He certainly came to my rescue," said Johnson.

Kirk agrees, and says he is now thinking it's time for a pet of his own. And if he's lucky it will be a dog like Sandy: loyal and smart enough to get help when his owner needed him most.