Yogi, a golden retriever from Austin, was recognized during The Humane Society of the United States’ “Dog of Valor” award ceremony at
St. David’s Rehabilitation Hospital. Yogi is credited with saving his then 57-year-old owner, Paul Horton, after he fell off his bike late last year and suffered a spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
Horton was taken to
St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, where Mark Burnett, M.D., a neurosurgeon and executive medical director of NeuroTexas Institute at St. David’s HealthCare, performed surgery to stabilize his spine and release the pressure. Horton was then transported to
St. David’s Rehabilitation Hospital, where he worked to rehabilitate from his spinal cord injuries.
“I truly believe Yogi saved my life,” Horton said. “He’s my hero.”
