--- title: Dog Saves Owner's LIfe description: A Michigan man who slipped on the snow outside his home New Year's Eve was kept warm in freezing temperatures for nearly a day by his dog. canonical: https://time.com/4633385/dog-keeps-owner-alive-snow/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-12T21:31:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:40:08.953Z og:title: Doctor Says This Dog Just Saved Its Owner's Life og:description: "I don't think he would be living unless the dog were there" og:url: https://time.com/4633385/dog-keeps-owner-alive-snow/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Doctor Says This Dog Just Saved Its Owner's Life twitter:description: "I don't think he would be living unless the dog were there" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Dog Just Saved Its Owner's Life After He Slipped in the Snow  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 12, 2017 9:31 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 12, 2017 9:31 PM UTC A Michigan man who [slipped on the snow](http://time.com/money/3683910/snow-removal-laws-liability-shovel/) outside his home [New Year’s Eve](http://time.com/4619923/new-years-eve-around-the-world-watch-live/) was kept warm in freezing temperatures for nearly a day by [his dog](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/17/dogs-have-built-in-snow-boots-researchers-find/). Kelsey the golden retriever stayed by the side of her owner Bob for 20 hours in temperatures as low as 24 degrees after he fell and injured his neck getting a log for the fire, according to[ WPBN](http://www.14news.com/story/34242009/dog-helps-keep-owner-alive-after-accident). “The last thing he remembers saying is telling Kelsey that he was so sorry, that he tried as hard as he could to stay alive,” Bob’s daughter Jenny said. “He wasn’t sure by the end. He remembers losing consciousness and kind of putting his head to the side and saying, ‘I gave it all I could give it’ and that was it.” The pair was discovered about an hour after Bob lost consciousness by their neighbor Rick, who had come over to borrow some eggs. Bob was taken to the hospital where he underwent neurosurgery with Dr. Chaim Colen. “I don’t think he would be living unless the dog were there,” Dr. Colen said. “The dog kept him warm. The dog kept his extremities warm. He didn’t have any frostbite and it was 24 degrees that night.” Watch the clip below. Read more at [14news.com](http://www.14news.com/story/34242009/dog-helps-keep-owner-alive-after-accident). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4633385/dog-keeps-owner-alive-snow/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4633385/dog-keeps-owner-alive-snow/"},"headline":"This Dog Just Saved Its Owner's Life After He Slipped in the Snow","datePublished":"2017-01-12T21:31:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:40:08.953Z","description":"\"I don't think he would be living unless the dog were there\"","url":"https://time.com/4633385/dog-keeps-owner-alive-snow/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Dogs","Human interest"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4633385/dog-keeps-owner-alive-snow/","name":"This Dog Just Saved Its Owner's Life After He Slipped in the Snow"}}]}] ```