LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. -- A rat terrier named Lyric has had a pretty rough life. The dog's owner, John Nemcek, talked about her life before being adopted. 

"The people that found her and brought her in found her along the side of the road all ripped up," he said.

On a recent cold winter’s night John brought her out to do her 'business' when he says "she noticed that something was unusual, and pointed it out."

That small gesture may possibly have saved a man’s life.

"If she had done her normal thing I never would have looked up," he said.

Lying in the darkness, with temperatures in the teens, a man had fallen on the sidewalk and couldn’t get back up. 

"I yelled out I said is anybody there. Can I help you, and I heard a faint voice call back 'help me.' Since he’s got two bad knees and he can’t lift them up that high, he got caught more or less in that drift and fell down," said John.

If it weren’t for Lyric, the man would likely have been frostbitten, and possibly froze to death.

"I think there was a good chance that he would have lay there all night, because like I said it was a very, very bad night, and this during the winter doesn’t get much traffic to begin with," said John.

City officials recognized the dog’s heroics and named her the Official Dog of Little Falls. City of Little Falls Mayor Mark Blask says the title comes with unfettered access to all the city’s fire hydrants, and treats at the firehouse.

"I guess you never know what would have happened. It was certainly a cold night, and Lyric was on the spot to help, so that’s really the bottom line. In our mind, in the city of Little Falls, Lyric is certainly a hero," said Blask.

If you happen to like Lyric’s story, there are plenty of other animals waiting for their stories to be told at the Stevens-Swan Humane Society. To see all of the pets available for adoption, click here.