Community Corner

Foster Dog Proves Hero for Shelby Township Woman

Joleen, a 2-year-old pug/beagle mix, is credited with saving the life of Mary-Louise Klatt after she suffered a heart attack.

A Shelby Township woman found an angel in the form of her foster dog.

The Michigan Humane Society credits , with saving the life of her foster mom, Mary-Louise Klatt after she suffered a heart attack earlier this month.

According to an announcement posted to Shelby-Utica Patch, Joleen barked to alert Klatt’s step-son, who called for help.

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“And she kept licking my face, trying to wake me up,” Klatt said. “She’s my angel!”

Klatt had been caring for Joleen and three puppies since November. The puppies were adopted by other families in January, but Joleen—needing additional time to recuperate after nursing the pups—stayed with Klatt.

Find out what's happening in Shelby-Uticawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Klatt is glad she did.

"If she wouldn't have alerted someone, I wouldn't be here," Klatt said in a video posted on the Michigan Humane Society's YouTube channel.

After recovering from the heart attack and being released from the hospital, Klatt adopted Joleen in March.

"We always talk about how pets give back more than they take, but this is an even more dramatic example of how pets affect our lives,” Jamahl Scott, the volunteer programs manager for the Michigan Humane Society, said in a press release. “We are so glad Joleen was there when she was needed."


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