last night strangers saved my dog's life.

On Friday Sarge decided he likes yoga.

I've typed this out a few times, but it is easiest to copy and paste the email that I wrote to the editor of the Beaufort paper. If it ever gets published is a mystery, but at least I have tried!

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen that Sarge collapsed while we were running last night. It was the scariest afternoon of my life.

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My 6.5 year old black lab and I were running on the Spanish Moss Trail this afternoon. We ran about 4.25 miles when my dog, Sarge, basically collapsed on the trail by Allison Road. His front legs gave out and he became very disoriented and fell over, almost like he was drunk. I started yelling for help when two ladies and a man in front of me heard me screaming and ran over to me as I was yelling for water. They did not have any, but the man ran to Allison Road and stopped a truck to ask for water. Miraculously, the man came running back with an unopened gallon of water. I was in too much of a panic to really comprehend what was happening. I immediately poured the water on the dog and got him to drink some of it until we could slow his heart rate and cool him down.

Side note: Who has a gallon of water in their car? He looked like a contractor (because of his truck) so maybe that is why, but if this wasn't a God-thing, I DO NOT know what is. This man was my angel- the water saved Sarge!

I thanked the group over and over and told them I thought he was OK and we started walking slowly back to my car parked on Depot Road (about a mile away). After about ten yards, Sarge collapsed again. This time, his jaw was locked shut and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. It was like watching him seize but having no idea what to do and no one to call! I screamed for help again and another group of three came running over to me. At this point I was in a panic, but the two men were able to calm me down while the lady ran to her car so we could drive Sarge back to my parked car. In the meantime, we laid Sarge down, cooled him down, and continued to try to give him water.

One of the men, a local photographer in Beaufort called a friend of mine who lives in Mossy Oaks, so she could bring a bowl of water and help calm me down since she knows me well. By the time my friend and her husband arrived, the men had taken care of Sarge and gotten to him to his feet and walking again. We let him walk around a little to make sure that he wasn't going to fall again. They had helped me breathe and stop panicking, something I could have never done on my own.

I only got three of the six stranger's names (Paul, Liv, and Doug I believe) and I never spoke to the man who generously gave another stranger a gallon of water. I kept saying thank you over and over and over, hoping that these people truly understood my gratitude, as this was one of the scariest things that I have ever had happen to me in my 25 years of life! I did find Paul on Facebook and sent him a thank you message, hoping he will send me his friends' emails to I can thank them, too.

So as we hear terrible events and bad news everyday, I can't help but be thankful for our wonderful community in Beaufort and for those people who took time out of their Sunday stroll to help me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and would love to be able to hung your necks, especially the man with the water who almost appeared like an angel. If you aren't a believer in God, I don't know how because coincidences like this just don't happen.

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(Tyler was out fishing with a buddy so I couldn't even get him when I was in panic-mode. He doesn't quite seem to grasp how serious the situation really was and how truly scarred I am from it). 

I pray that this was an isolated incident and not the beginning of epilepsy. After posting on Facebook, a friend told me the same thing happened to her dog and now he is on medication for seizures. This poor pup has been through a lot this year!

Love you poochie!