A KFDI disc jockey listens to her dog, Buddy, who leads her to a neighbor in need
The last time Carol Hughes got so many “likes” on Facebook, the KFDI mid-morning disc jockey had posted a photo of herself posing with Garth Brooks.
But, as she learned this week, everyone loves a canine hero.
A story and photo Hughes posted on Tuesday about her 12-year-old dog, Buddy, and his heroic actions blew up on her Facebook page, as friends praised the pooch for his animal intuition.
“The senses that a dog has over a human’s ability is incredible,” wrote one.
“He’s a hero!! I love this baby!!!” wrote another.
It all started on Tuesday evening, as Hughes — an avid Cubs fan — was preparing to turn on the game. She leashed up Buddy, a mutt she rescued as a puppy, for his nightly walk around their neighborhood near Central and Woodlawn.
The two were heading down a path they take frequently when suddenly, Buddy just stopped. He wouldn’t move. Hughes said she realized he wanted to go a different way than normal, back toward the house about two blocks away where they had previously lived.
“He literally just stopped,” Hughes said. “And I actually said out loud to him, ‘You really you want to go that way?’ There was a guy riding his bike past, and I thought, ‘That guy probably thinks I’m crazy because I’m questioning my dog.’”
But Hughes followed Buddy’s lead, and after they’d walked past two houses, Hughes heard a noise that sounded like someone moaning. She looked closer and realized that her former neighbor, a 62-year-old disabled man, had fallen in front of his house. She rushed over to him and realized that he was hurt and couldn’t stand up.
She told Buddy to wait at the top of the driveway, which he did, and she dialed 911.
“I think he had been there for quite a while,” Hughes said of her former neighbor.
Hughes and Buddy waited for the ambulance to arrive and stayed long enough that they felt sure their former neighbor would be OK. As they left, he mouthed “thank you” to them.
Hughes said she’s not sure Buddy sensed that someone was in trouble, but she wonders.
“It’s not uncommon for him to go, ‘Hey, let’s go this way,’” Hughes said of Buddy. “But it was just weird. He never wants to go down that street.”
Hughes said Buddy first came to live with her as a 7-week-old puppy. She was at the pound one day when she saw people walk in with two sad looking puppies who’d been found in a dumpster. She took them both — a boy and a girl — hoping to find them homes. She was worried they’d be put down.
Hughes quickly found a home for the girl puppy, but not the boy. He’s been with her ever since.
Hughes said she can’t stop thinking about her former neighbor and wondering if he would have been outside all night if not for Buddy.
She gave Buddy lots of treats when they got home, though — full disclosure — she gives him lots of treats every night.
“It was just the weirdest thing,” she said. “It makes me super emotional.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 5:47 AM with the headline "A KFDI disc jockey listens to her dog, Buddy, who leads her to a neighbor in need."