Duke was a rescue dog, lost or abandoned by its owner.

Lou Rodio has taken in rescue dogs and agreed to take in Duke until its owner could be found.

That started a relationship that would prove critical for them both.

Rodio, who worked for NBC-13 and once test-drove motorcycles for Harley-Davidson, cared for Duke. It was his frequent walks with Duke that ended up revealing a health scare for Rodio.

“I rescued Duke and he rescued me, but he also saved my life,” Rodio said.

After Duke died, Rodio wanted his story to live on, so he wrote a book, “Duke: My Life Saver,” published on Amazon.

“All of the other dogs that we rescued, they were all unique in their own way, but Duke was on an entirely different level all his own,” Rodio said.

How a rescue dog became the rescuer for Alabama man from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.