FOREVER GRATEFUL
Marin woman credits dog-sitter with saving her life
All Janet Jones can clearly remember from July 6, the day she nearly died, is waking up at 3 a.m. to set her alarm for work at MarinHealth Medical Center.
Jones, a nurse who lives in Novato, had been out of work for a while due to the pandemic and it was supposed to be her first day back. She planned to drop off her teacup poodle Noche to her dogsitter Kelsey Formslag, who ultimately saved her life.
Jones never woke up to her alarm. Formslag knew something was wrong when Jones was 10 minutes late to drop off Noche.
She immediately sent text messages to her mother Sara Formslag, who lives down the street from Jones, urging her to go check on her client.
Sara Formslag walked over to Jones’ house. She said Jones did not look well when she answered.
Paramedics were called in. Jones had a 105- degree fever and inhibited speech, vision and memory. At the hospital, the staff discovered Jones had a brain abscess caused by untreated meningitis.
“It was really in nick of time,” Sara Formslag said. “Honestly, the doctor told Janet if it would have been any longer she wouldn’t be in the condition she is today. It was just a matter of minutes. All the pieces fell into place.
“Kelsey has a little bit of a sixth sense. She definitely senses things and she knew something was wrong.”
This week, Kelsey Formslag started dog- sitting Noche again at her home in the Hamilton neighborhood, which she shares with other people with disabilities.
The 26- year- old has Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic condition that affects behavior and intellectual and physical development.
Sara Formslag said her daughter loves animals and has always wanted a job petsitting. She said they met Jones three years ago while shopping at the Feathered Nest, a shop in Novato.
“We were customers. We never met Janet before,” Sara Formslag said. “We just struck up a conversation with the owner. We were just chatting. Me and Kelsey said we were big animal lovers so we were talking to her about Janet's dog, and I mentioned my daughter has some experience watching animals if they needed a dog walker or anything.”
Jones said she would love it if Kelsey could watch Noche, who is also a service dog.
“It was meant to be, and the two are inseparable,” Formslag said. “Noche goes crazy when you mention Kelsey's name, and when Kelsey is in the room she only has eyes for Kelsey.”
Jones said she has nearly recovered from her ordeal after being in and out of the hospital for months. She said she is forever grateful to Formslag.
“Kelsey told her mom, ‘I had this premonition. Something is not right,'” Jones said. “But because I had not been coming to drop off Noche in about three months, she could have thought my job told me not to come in and that would have been it. But she was on it, bless her little head. She was on it.”
This is not the first time Kelsey has had a premonition, her mother said.
“When my mother passed away, at the time she was passing, she spoke to Kelsey,” she said. “She said my mom told her to ‘ take care of my daughter. She is very important to me.' So she is kind of attuned to these things.”
Said Jones: “Bless her soul, she saved my life.”