MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — A pit bull puppynamed TaterTot is being called a hero after he saved a little boy who was having a medical emergency.
KMSP reports that the 10-month-old dog was just hours away from being euthanized when he was recently adopted by Christi Smith’s family. Smith says her son, Peyton, 4, quickly developed a bond with TaterTot, but she didn’t realize how special it was until last week when the boy suffered a medical emergency.
Christi says that TaterTot woke her up, and began licking and jumping on Peyton, who was unconscious in bed. “(TaterTot) kept on whining and barking and running between the two of us.”
Smith checked Peyton and found the boy was barely breathing. His blood sugar had dropped dangerously low.
“If his blood sugar was that low he may have been producing keytones so that may have been what the dog picked up on,” said Dr. Isis Sanchez with Blue Pearl Veterinary Clinic. Aside from detecting the change of smell in Peyton’s body, Sanchez says, dogs may have a “sixth sense” that can detect changes in electrical activity. That’s how some animals can warn people with epilepsy about seizures before they actually happen, she says.
Doctors say that Peyton tested negative for diabetes and that it’s still unclear what caused his blood sugar to drop. Regardless, his mother says if it weren’t for TaterTot, her son wouldn’t be alive today.
“I could have been one of those moms sitting there telling people how I lost my son,” said Smith.
To read more of KMSP’s original report, clickhere.
