LANSING, Mich. — Plenty of dogs are loyal.
But some go above and beyond for their owners.
Saturday night could have been Kirk Hetherington's last night on earth, but thanks to a quick-thinking wife, a carton of orange juice, and a very good dog, what could have been a tragedy has turned into a reason to be thankful.
"It's a whole new perspective to being man's best friend," he said. "It goes further than that."
Cashew is Kirk Hetherington’s support dog. He helps Kirk deal with anxiety and stress.
"He wasn't even trained to do what he did, and he took it upon himself."
Saturday night, Kirk and his wife Rosie were sleeping.
"Whenever Cashew has to go out, he bounces up and down on the bed to get her attention," Kirk said.
"But he didn't do that this time. He licked me in the face," said his wife Rosie. "He's never licked me in the face since I’ve known him. So I got up, and he went over and started licking his face. And I noticed that he was soaking and dripping in sweat. So I thought to check his blood sugar."
Kirk is diabetic, and his blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. Rosie sprang into action and fed him crackers and orange juice – an uncommon item in the house.
"It’s got too much sugar for him," said Rosie. "I got the juice because I wanted it. It just happened to be there."
Three hours later, Kirk's blood sugar had risen back to normal, with Cashew by his side the whole time.
"It was amazing…what he did. If he didn't wake my wife up, I would not be here today," said Kirk.
Cashew wasn't Kirk's support dog when he was a puppy. But Kirk is thankful that he got Cashew registered.
"They are a great asset and should never be looked down upon. You can't put a price on them."
Saturday night changed Rosie’s point of view; normally a cat person, she didn't think much of Cashew.
"He can have as many cheeseburgers, and wake me up as many times as he wants," she said.
It also gave Kirk a new lease on life.
"It’s a great feeling to wake up every day knowing that you have a second chance."
Now, Cashew has a new label on his red service vest: "hero."
Kirk made the addition to remind himself and the rest of the world how special Cashew really is.
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