Caught on video: Dogs run for help when owner collapses from stroke
ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida -- Two dogs jumped into action when their owner collapsed inside her home.
Maureen Hatcher collapsed in her St. Augustine home on Dec. 3 after suffering from a stroke.
It was almost as if her dogs, Bella and Sadie, knew they had to act quickly to save her life.
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The dogs were caught on a Ring camera running to the neighbor's home for help.
Moments later, the neighbor found Hatcher in her home and called 911.
Instead of taking Hatcher to the nearest ER, paramedics rushed Hatcher to the comprehensive stroke center at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville.
Dr. Nima Aghaebrahim says it's a decision that likely prevented permanent brain damage.
"When a stroke happens, time is everything," Aghaebrahim said.
Until recently, it was believed patients like Hatcher, who have gone untreated for a long period of time, were in danger. But doctors successfully removed the clot through a new procedure. It involved using dye to find the clot and maneuvering a stent retriever from the fermoral artery in her leg to her neck.
It's a procedure that up until a few years ago was unheard of.
"It's one of the highlights of our career that we're able to help people such as Mrs. Hatcher," Aghaebrahim said.
Hatcher said she is not sure how the dogs got out, as her door always locks automatically.
She believes the door must have been slightly ajar the day she suffered the stroke.
"By rights, I shouldn't be in the shape that I'm in," Hatcher said with Bella and Sadie sitting at her feet. "I am blessed. Very blessed."
