FREMONT, Neb. (AP) -- J.J. Fritz got a wonderful
wakeup call from a pit bull.
It was wonderful because the dog woke up Fritz
at the right time.
Fritz, 25, lives in Fremont with 3-year-old
Jessie, an 85-pound pit bull.
"I've always loved the dog," Fritz said. "She's
like my best friend."
Jessie showed what a fine pal she could be
recently after Fritz had surgery.
After having a piece of bone removed from his
right elbow, Fritz was told that he might have a
little bleeding and to keep an eye on it.
Fritz was at home asleep the night after his
surgery when Jessie began whining, pulling on
his left sleeve and nosing his arm.
Normally, Jessie doesn't get up at night, but
Fritz thought the dog might have to go outside.
"Then I could feel how warm my arm was from the
blood," Fritz said.
His large bandage was soaked.
Fritz had his girlfriend take him to Fremont
Area Medical Center.
"They took me right in," Fritz said. "They
hurried and cut the bandage off to see what was
going on."
Dr. Richard Ward, the emergency room physician,
said he discovered a small artery had been
nicked during the surgery. It had taken a while
for blood to soak through the bandage.
"I had to put a different kind of suture in to
stop the bleeding," he said.
Fritz returned home to Jessie.
"She laid down and slept with me. She didn't
leave my side for three days," he said.
Today, Fritz thinks he might have bled to death
had the dog not awakened him.
Ward isn't quite sure that's the case.
"I'm hard-pressed to say he would have bled to
death," Ward said.
But Ward said that Fritz might have lost a
significant amount of blood had it not been for
Jessie.
So Ward has high praise for the pooch.
"It's really great what his dog did," Ward said.
"Those dogs (pit bulls) get a bad rap. At least
they should get a good rap for doing the right
thing."
