It took two years, but Dan Weehunt returned the favor to his dog Li’l Miss, thanks to the state lottery and some help from his family.

Li’l Miss saved his life once, and now he has saved hers.

“She looks excellent,” Weehunt said Thursday of his beloved pet, who two years ago woke him from a sound sleep in time to escape a fire spreading through his mattress.

“Her coat looks very good, and she even has a smile on her face now,” he said Thursday.

Weehunt, 58, a disabled Bayview resident, thought he would never scrape up the money needed to pay for a $600 operation for his constant companion, a 9-year-old, 45-pound Boston bull terrier-miniature boxer mix.

But this past Tuesday, a number of tumors and a few teeth were removed from the dog’s mouth during an operation at Useless Bay Animal Clinic.

Weehunt said that before his windfall, he was to the point of putting an ad in the local newspaper asking for donations.

But then last week, one of Weehunt’s seven state lottery scratch tickets paid off to the tune of $1,000. About the same time, more money arrived from family members in Oregon.

“I didn’t have any money, then all of a sudden I got the money,” he said. “Yahoo!”

Weehunt said getting Li’l Miss her surgery was the least he could do after the dog saved his life.

Back in November 2007, Li’l Miss had jumped around on his chest until he woke up after his mattress caught fire at his modest Bayview home. A cigarette was blamed.

After running outside to catch his breath, Weehunt ran back inside and dragged the smoking mattress into the yard. The house was spared.

For her actions, Li’l Miss received the first-ever bravery award given by the nonprofit Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation (WAIF), Weehunt said.

He said he’s alive today because of what Li’l Miss did.

“No doubt about it,” he said at the time. “If it wasn’t for that dog, I’d be history.”

Weehunt, who grew up in Oregon, came to the Puget Sound region in the early 1990s to work in the area’s shipyards.

He was employed at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland for 13 years, before poor health forced him to go on Social Security disability.

Weehunt said his dog’s recent medical problems were the capper to a difficult stretch in his life.

He said his numerous health issues have become worse, his liver is trying to shut down on him, and he has been involved in a lingering dispute over child-support payments. He also needs to find a new place to live.

“Then my dog got sick,” Weehunt said. “It was just one thing after another, and I couldn’t deal with it.”

His life remains difficult, he said, but he has been

considerably cheered by Li’l Miss’ surgery and recovery.

“My dog still loves me,” he said. “She even loves me more than she did.

“She goes with me everywhere.”