A little faith and some social media are going a long way for a blind man and his seeing-eye dog.
On Tuesday morning, visually impaired New Yorker Cecil Williams, 61, fainted backwards onto the subway tracks in Harlem’s 125th station. His seeing-eye dog Orlando tried to stop him from falling, but it was too late.
Eyewitness Matthew Martin told the New York Post that Orlando jumped down and tried to rouse Williams even as a train approached.
“He was kissing him, trying to get him to move,” Martin said.
Witnesses called for help and the train’s motorman slowed his approach as Williams and Orlando lie in the trench between the rails.
“The dog saved my life,” Williams said.
Williams and Orlando only suffered minor injuries from the fall – even though the train passed over them.
Cecil Williams, 61, and Orlando both escaped serious injury when the train passed over top of them — a miraculous end to a harrowing ordeal that began when Williams began to feel faint on his way to the dentist. “He tried to hold me up,” the emotional Williams told The Associated Press from his hospital bed, his voice breaking at times.
Guide dog Orlando will be 11 on Jan. 5, and will be retiring soon, according to his owner. Cecil’s medical benefits will cover a new guide dog, but won’t pay for a non-working dog, so Cecil feared he would have to give Orlando up.
Fear not! Through social media and the power of the interwebs, Williams’ story touched the public. Following sympathetic reactions from viewers, a couple of online donations were set up for Williams, with some amounting to $14,000 dollars. One in particular, GoFundMe.com, has raised over $17,000 dollars for Williams to keep Orlando in his care.
It’s a Christmas miracle for Williams and his buddy Orlando – these two won’t be separated anytime soon.
SOURCE: Huff Post | VIDEO CREDIT: News Inc
