A year later, a thanks to responders who reacted to a dog’s distress and ran to help

Mary Grow, John Miles, Jean Medico and Bridget O’Hara pose for a photo with their commendations from Mayor Martin Walsh, City Councillor Frank Baker, and “favorite first responder notes” from Miles on Monday. 	Lauren Dezenski photoMary Grow, John Miles, Jean Medico and Bridget O’Hara pose for a photo with their commendations from Mayor Martin Walsh, City Councillor Frank Baker, and “favorite first responder notes” from Miles on Monday. Lauren Dezenski photo

John Miles’s dog Lucy has had her day, so nearly a year after the Fields Corner resident was seriously injured when he was hit by a car while walking her along Neponset Avenue, Miles decided it was high time to recognize the four women responsible for saving him.

The events that unfolded after Miles was hit are well known locally: Lucy, his son’s Beagle-Husky mix, ran to the nearby Neponset Dental clinic where she got the attention of four women who worked there: Mary Grow, Jean Medico, Bridget O’Hara, and Viva Johnson. Grow and O’Hara were nursing students, and Medico was trained in CPR.

After finding Miles lying on the ground, the women went to work. Grow stabilized him and helped to stanch the flow of blood pouring from his head and Medico grabbed gloves and blankets to keep him warm.

“Once I came to, the doctors told me that the people who helped me on the scene definitely made sure I was in much better condition than I could have been,” says Miles, 67. Since then, he has undergone eight months of intensive physical therapy, and is on the mend.

On Monday, Lucy the hero dog stayed home. Miles wanted the spotlight to be on the human heroes. At a luncheon at Florian Hall, he presented the women with commendations from Mayor Martin Walsh and Dorchester District City Councillor Frank Baker, and endowed them with a special title: “My Favorite First Responders.”

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