Christi Smith took in TaterTot hours before he was scheduled to be put down by The Minneapolis Animal Care And Control and had only planned to foster him for a couple of days; a week later, TaterTot returned the favor by saving Smith's 4-year-old son, Fox 9 News reported.
The 10-month-old rescued pitbull had been with the Smith family only a couple of days when TaterTot began alerting Smith that something was wrong with her son, Petyon Anderson, late at night. Smith told Fox the dog began licking and jumping on Peyton when the dog realized something was wrong and he wouldn't wake up.
"He kept on whining and barking and running between the two of us," she told Fox 9 News. "I checked on him, and he was barely breathing."
What TaterTot detected was a dangerous drop in Peyton's blood sugar, which Isis Sanchez of Blue Pearl Veterinary Clinic explained the pooch could have smelled.
"If his blood sugar was that low, he may have been producing ketones, that may have been what the dog picked up on," Sanchez told Fox. "His keen sense of smell likely helped him realize the change in Peyton's body."
Aside from smell, Sanchez said dogs may also have a sort of "sixth sense" that can detect changes in electrical activity, which is how some dogs may be able to warn people with epilepsy that a seizure may be looming, according to Fox.
Fox 9 News reported that Peyton tested negative for diabetes and doctors are still unsure what happened that night. Smith, remains convinced that the canine she saved is responsible for saving her son's life, told Fox TaterTot is officially part of the family.
"I could have been one of those moms sitting there telling people how I lost my son," Smith told Fox.
