Lady, a black Labrador retriever, came to the rescue of her owner, Charles Grise, to save his life.
Grise, an Indiana man, had been working in the rafters of his business when suddenly fell and landed in the bathroom. When Grise fell through, he hit his head on the bathroom sink.
According to Grise’s niece, Joey Ogburn, Grise had broken his nose, along with three vertebrae in his neck. His fall was so hard he even knocked the sink from the wall.
Ogburn stated that as soon as the sink came apart from the wall, cold water began flooding out of the pipes. Grise ended up laying in the cold water for two to five hours, before he was found with his body temperature at a mere 80 degrees.
Ogburn states that the only reason Grise did not die of Hypothermia is because of his loyal companion, Lady.
“The dog got on top of him and kept him warm,” Ogburn said via a phone call from Arizona. “But you have to keep in mind that this dog hates water. She won’t go near it. For her to go through that and lay with him the whole time is amazing.”
Lady stayed put on top of Grise, doing her best to keep his body warm. She stayed like this until Grise’s wife finally found him.
“They had to pull the dog off of him when the paramedics got there,” she said. “She didn’t want to leave him.”
Thankfully, Grise is on his way to a healthy recovery. Ogburn reported that Grise is currently seeing specialty therapists in Chicago.
Despite having requested to see Lady non-stop since the accident, Grise hasn’t been able to see her.
“He never goes anywhere without that dog,” Ogburn explained. “I’ll be flying out there at the end of the month and I will take her to Chicago myself to see him, if the hospital will allow it.”
Lady may be up for the Dog of Valor Award as Ogburn is looking into nominating her and will send in an application soon. The Humane Society of the United States awards worthy recipients the Dog of Valor Award.
“My uncle is a great guy with a tough exterior,” she said. “He’s really like this big, huge teddy bear. He just loves that dog… She’s a hero. She saved his life.”
