Navy veteran who suffered a stroke is reunited with 'miracle' Chihuahua that saved his life

Animals are a lot smarter than we often give them credit for. Even my pet hamster appears to know when I am sick.

And another pet who realized that something was wrong was this "miracle" Chihuahua who saved his Navy veteran owner's life.

Rudy Armstrong, 86, lives alone in a houseboat in Oriental, North Carolina, with his dog Boo Boo, a Chihuahua mix. Unfortunately, his life recently took a dangerous turn for the worst when he recently suffered a stroke.

This hero dog has been delivering groceries to people during the pandemic: 

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In an interview with ABC12, Rudy said: "I sat down in my chair, drank my coffee, and the next thing I know it was after lunch. And I couldn't even get my hand to move and my foot wouldn't move."

Rudy said that he is a man who very much likes his own company, which is why he lives alone, but he realized that this was to his detriment when he suffered a stroke and was forced to turn to Boo-Boo for help.

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"I didn't want to be there for a couple of days before somebody would come by," he said, "so I said, 'Ok Boo-Boo, go get me some help.'"

Boo-Boo did exactly that and alerted the dockmaster, Kim, who went on to call 911, and Rudy's life was subsequently saved by paramedics and later the CarolinaEast Hospital staff.

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CarolinaEast hospital staff said in a statement: "We thank him for his service to our country and for allowing us the privilege of caring for him and sharing his story of Boo-Boo, the miracle pup."

Then, five days after he was first hospitalized, Rudy was reunited with his "miracle" pup. "I've got tears running out of my eyes," he said, "missed her so much, man."

The veteran, who has served his country all over the world, couldn't be prouder of his dog and said that he is convinced he wouldn't have lived to tell the tale of his stroke without her.