08:08 AM CDT on Friday, June 2, 2006

By DONNA FIELDER / Denton Record-Chronicle

PONDER — Edith Sanders could have lain in the sunny, near-100-degree heat for half an hour last week. Her legs had failed her. But her friend “Little Girl” didn’t.

GARY PAYNE / DRC

Last week Edith Sanders, 89, fell from her walker outside her home and she was able to get help from Little Girl, a Bichon-schnauzer mix, who got the attention of Hopie Hawkins, Sander's health care provider. “I think she should get a medal,” Sanders said. The dog is owned by Hawkins.

The 89-year-old woman was puttering around the front yard where she lives with her son, Bobby Sanders, on Florance Road and she misjudged her strength May 24.

“I was just walking around with my walker and I was out there too long,” Sanders said. “The next thing I knew, I was down. Little Girl came right up to me and I said, ‘Go get Bobby!’ And she got help for me.”

Little Girl is a Bichon-schnauzer mix dog that belongs to Sanders’ health-care worker, Hopie Hawkins. Hawkins was working on another side of the house when Little Girl ran up to her, barking excitedly.

“I thought she wanted to play. I told her to go on, that I was busy,” Hawkins said. “But she just backed off and kept talking to me. I could see she wanted me to follow her, so I did, and that’s when I saw Edith lying there. I was busy and I had just looked at her and then walked off. It could have been 20 to 25 minutes or longer before I checked on her.”

Hawkins and Bobby Sanders helped the fragile woman up. She suffered no broken bones, just a few bruises.

Sanders is a widow who was born in the area but lived in several places before coming to live with her son several years ago. Hawkins lives with the family and cares for her. The 5-year-old Little Girl is very protective of her.

“I think she should get a medal,” Sanders said.

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com.