The physicians were astounded when they entered the room after the dog sprung to his feet and began licking his owner’s face, pawing at his chest, and whining
It was now the third month that the elderly man had been lying in the hospital room. “The prognosis is extremely poor,” the doctors shrugged after a catastrophic stroke. No movement, no words. The body is deteriorating. His eyes were mostly closed and his breathing was barely noticeable, as if he were trapped inside his own body.
Ralph, his dog, was the only one who appeared to think he was still “there.”
He lay by the bed every minute of every day. He occasionally whimpered softly, and other times he simply gazed at his master. He was always in the hospital. Everyone already regarded him as a member of room 214, and nurses gave him food and water.
However, everything changed one morning.
It was too quiet at first. The monitors, which often beeped and clicked, became quiet as well. Ralph looked up. He simply gazed at his owner’s face for a moment. Then he leaped onto the bed without warning.
As though possessed, he started licking the elderly man’s face. Whining like never before, he pulled the sheet and pawed at his chest. He acted as though he was aware of the problem. Something was going on. The doctors were astounded by what they observed when they walked into the room 
Then an alert was set off by the apparatus. The screen blinked. Breathing stumbled. It sent out a warning signal after one second. With haste, the physicians entered the room. Looking at the readings, one of them muttered:
We would have lost him if it had gone on for another minute. total respiratory arrest when you’re asleep. The dog was the first to notice it.
The elderly man had a ventilator attached to him. He came back to consciousness a day later. He opened his eyes consciously, albeit weakly. Ralph was the first thing he saw.
The man experienced a second, covert episode of respiratory failure, the specialists later confirmed.
Silent and unnoticed. In some situations, individuals just “do not wake up.” The doctors’ prompt intervention would have been pointless if Ralph hadn’t taken it.
Weeks later, the elderly man said, “He saved my life,” with difficulty. — Once more.
Just like him. I got it back from the person whose life I had previously spared.
