Leana suffers from epilepsy. Her service dog Faith, a Rottweiler, has been trained to detect changes in Leana's body chemistry to warn her before a seizure hits.
One night, after Leana went to bed, Faith refused to let her sleep.
"She jumped up on the bed and started running in circles," Leana says. "You have to listen to your service dog's instincts so I got out of bed and sat up with her."
Then, Leana went into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Moments later, she passed out. Leana hit her head on a cabinet and immediately started having grand mal seizures. Faced with a life-threatening emergency, 4-year-old Faith leapt into action. Faith ran for the phone and brought it to Leana, but when Leana didn't respond, Faith took charge! She went back to the base of the phone and pressed the speed dial for 911—using her nose!
When the 911 operator picked up, Faith replied the only way she knew how—by barking incessantly. "The dog that was barking was very insistent," says operator Jenny Buchanan. "It sounded like it was trying to say that there was some sort of a problem…I checked to see what the address was and we sent officers out to see what the problem was."
After that miracle phone call, Faith then unlocked the front door and laid down next to Leana, keeping her safe until help arrived. Leana was hospitalized for three weeks after her fall; she is now back at home with her life-saving hero!
