Woman thankful after her dog saves her life: ‘I wasn’t ready to go’

SAGINAW COUNTY, Mich. (WNEM/Gray News) - A Michigan woman says she came close to death after passing out in her bathroom, but with her life in jeopardy and no time to spare, her dog took action to save her.

Cathie McCammon has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and on April 1, she says it nearly took her life. She told WNEM she felt kind of funny then passed out unconscious in her bathroom.

That’s when her dog, Bentley, sprang into action.

“I just thought people would enjoy hearing a story like this because it’s amazing. It’s amazing what he did,” McCammon said.

She says somehow, Bentley got out of the house and sniffed his way to her nephew’s Travis’ house a few doors away. He began scratching at the door and window to get the family’s attention.

“He just went up on the door and scratched at the window. They saw it was him, and Travis said, ‘Well, that’s Bentley. I better get him back home. I bet Cathie doesn’t even know he got out of the house,’” McCammon said.

When McCammon’s nephew brought Bentley home, he found his aunt passed out. By the time paramedics arrived, McCammon says her oxygen level was at 28, and her heart rate was at 24.

She spent a little more than three weeks in the hospital before she was discharged April 24.

“Just happy to be here. I wasn’t ready to go. Obviously, God wasn’t ready to take me either,” McCammon said.

Bentley has received a lot of treats for his life-saving deed, and McCammon says even better ones are on the way.

“He’s got something coming that I haven’t done yet, and that’s a steak on the grill. He will be getting one or two or maybe all summer, every week. I don’t know yet, but he’ll be getting some,” she said.

McCammon’s prognosis is good, and she says she’s making sure to breathe the proper way, which is through the nose and slowly out through the mouth to keep her carbon dioxide levels in check.

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