(CNN) Dogs are often called man’s best friend, but for one Illinois man, best friend doesn’t wuite cut it. He’s convinced his dog saved his life.

Meet 19-year-old Ricky Hatfield and his 2-year-old miracle retriever named Maverick. The pair share a close bond which was strengthened earlier this year when the well-trained K-9 acted out of the ordinary.

"He headbutted me right in the groin." Something Hatfield says maverick would never do.

"Head down and hit me and then backed off and then looked at me for a minute, and I was down on the ground for a little while,” Hatfield explained.

The injury only got worse. "It swelled up just a little bit, and the swelling wouldn't go down,” Hatfield said.

After a few days Hatfield decided to go to the ER.

"We had some ultrasounds done, and the lady that did the ultrasound said it looked like a mass,” Hatfield said. A mass he had never noticed before the injury, but doctors diagnosed him with stage two testicular cancer.

"I was speechless because I'm 19 and you don't think that stuff like this can happen to you,” Hatfield said. He says he will find out if he needs chemo later this month, but doctors say his prognosis is positive and expects a full recovery.

As for Maverick, his vet, Dr. Jim Parker, says a cancer sniffing dog is certainly a possibility. "There is no scientific study that can prove it but certainly those types of coincidences happen enough that you got to wonder if there is not more to it than just purely coincidence."

For Hatfield there is no wondering. He says he owes his life to Maverick. "There is nothing better than having your first real dog that actually kind of saves your life."

Dogs have been known to sniff out changes in blood sugar levels for diabetics. Recent studies have shown dogs able to detect some forms of cancer too.
Illinois Man Convinced Dog Saved His Life