JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A Georgia man said the persistent barking of a neighbor’s dog helped save his life.

Tony Dagnino, of Johns Creek, was working on his Mazda when it fell off the jack stands, crushing him, WSB-TV reported.

“(It was) like someone jumped on me," Dagnino told the television station. “But it was a big guy."

“I couldn’t catch a full breath. I was on my side. Had I been laying on my back, I think I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Dagnino’s neighbor, Emily Truong, who owns the boxer mix named Root Beer -- “Rudy,” for short -- heard the dog barking from the upstairs bedroom of her suburban Atlanta home.

“I think he knew something was wrong, because he was standing right down the driveway,” Truong told WSB.

Unable to call for help, Dagnino figured he would not last much longer. But Rudy’s nonstop barking got everyone’s attention.

“I’m just so thankful and grateful that Rudy had that instinct and was out there," Truong told WSB. “He knew something was wrong.”

Dagnino’s wife, children and a few neighbors were able to lift the car enough so Dagnino could move out of harm’s way. He suffered a broken collarbone and a broken rib, but it could have been a lot worse.

“Never used to be my favorite dog. But he is now my favorite dog," Dagnino told WSB. “It was like a ‘Lassie’ moment, and I was Timmy.”

Cox Media Group