ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (WCCO) — An alert dog is being credited with saving an elderly neighbor during last week’s dangerous cold.

Midnight is Tim Curfman’s 4-year-old black Lab mix.

Curfman was taking out the garbage last Monday at his home in Alexandria when Midnight sensed something was wrong next door.

“She had her ears perked up looking at me. She doesn’t normally do that. Sometimes you get that feeling something’s up,” said Curfman.

As Curfman followed Midnight, she took him to a spot on the other side of the house. That’s where he found his 87-year-old neighbor lying in the snow. She had fallen while trying to fill her bird feeder.

“We figured she was out there at least a half an hour,” said Curfman. “She could not have gotten up because her gloves had gotten wet and she didn’t have enough strength in her fingers to push herself up. Nothing around the corner to get up and get a hold of either.”

At the time, the temperature was about one degree below zero. Curfman got his neighbor Noreen inside and his wife helped her get into dry clothes.

Noreen didn’t want to be on camera but did tell us that Midnight definitely saved her in the nick of time, sort of like Lassie — it’s how Midnight saved the day.

That morning, man’s best friend also became the neighbor’s best friend and personal hero.

“We’ve been very proud of her because it’s not every dog that pays attention to things like this,” said Curfman. “And she got so many treats it was a shame.”

Noreen didn’t have any serious injuries and avoided frostbite.