Chihuahua Saves Owner’s Life When He Has Stroke: ‘She’s a Really Smart Dog’

A little dog in Oriental, North Carolina, is getting lots of attention for saving her owner who recently experienced a stroke.

Rudy Armstrong, 88, lives on a houseboat he built at the Whittaker Creek Yacht Owner’s Association and loves to watch TV with his Chihuahua-Australian terrier mix named Bubu, according to JDNews.com.

“She was six weeks old,” the Navy veteran said of the dog, given to him by a friend almost two years ago. “We bonded immediately that night. She’s slept with me ever since.”

“We talk and we play and all this kind of good stuff. She loves watching TV. She don’t care too much for the westerns. Her favorite show is Walking Wild in San Diego Zoo,” he explained.

However, once Armstrong got up the morning of August 2, he noticed “a little bit of a problem with my foot,” but dismissed it until after lunch when his hand and foot were paralyzed.

The veteran immediately called Bubu onto his lap and put his hand on her head.

“I never did this kind of dog talk before, but I told her I was in trouble. I told her to go get Kim,” he recalled.

When Bubu jumped down and ran off, Armstrong had no idea what she would do, adding that people checked on him every few days, “But I didn’t want to wait two days to be found.”

The dog ran straight to dockmaster Kim Whittaker for help.

“I said, ‘Where’s your daddy?'” she recalled, adding that Bubu instantly laid down which was unusual. However, once she got to Armstrong’s boat, Whittaker called for an ambulance.

Following the incident, the veteran recovered at CarolinaEast Rehabilitation Hospital that shared photos of his reunion with Bubu on Friday:

Armstrong told reporters that except for a stay at the hospital a year ago, he and Bubu had never been separated.

“She’s a really smart dog,” the veteran concluded.