You hear of our men and women in blue, firefighters, and first responders saving the lives of many people. We know they risk their lives for us every day, and we are truly grateful to them. But what about the heroic dogs that have saved lives? There are many dogs out there that have saved the lives of people and are true heroes.
Let’s get into a few tales of heroic dogs saving lives. These dogs deserve to be recognized for their heroics.
Victoria The One-Eyed Dog Who Sniffed Out Skin Cancer
Buffalo, N.Y.: Victoria is a one-eyed Coonhound that was rescued by a woman named Lauren in Buffalo, N.Y. About 8 months after Victoria was in her new home, she started to insistently sniff a spot-on Lauren’s nose. The persistent smelling of Lauren’s nose made her wonder if something was wrong. and thought that maybe she he decided to see her doctor about it. After some tests and a biopsy, it was discovered that Lauren had basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. Lauren was diagnosed promptly and had surgery to remove the cancer before it grew all thanks to Victoria.
This tale is extra special as Lauren saved Victoria’s life by rescuing her and giving her a forever loving home, and in return, Victoria saved Lauren’s life. What a great tale of a heroic dog!
Victoria is not the only dog who has sniffed out a health issue in a human. There are many reports of dogs being able to sniff out colorectal cancers, lung and breast cancer. It is important that we pay attention when are dogs are acting strange around a certain body part of ours. They may just be trying to save our life.
Storm- The Wonder Golden Retriever
Long Island Sound: Storm is a Golden Retriever who saved the life of a baby deer in the Long Island Sound. Storm and his handler Mark were enjoying a nice walk on the Long Island Sound when they noticed that a fawn was in danger. It had fallen into the Sound and was drowning.
Storm jumped into the water and started swimming over to the fawn. Once he reached the fawn, he grabbed it by the neck and brought it over to the shore.
Mark got the rescue on video and Storm became a YouTube sensation with 1.5 million views to date.
After Storm brought the fawn to safety and the rescue team arrived, the fawn got scared and ran back into the water. This time the fawn was rescued by someone from the rescue team.
Another great tale of a heroic dog saving lives.
Sissy- The Mini Schnauzer
Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Nancy Franck was in the hospital recovering from cancer in the year 2015. Her family and friends visited as expected. But she also received an unexpected visitor. Sissy, her mini schnauzer. She had walked 20 blocks to the hospital she had never been to before.
The dog was captured on video looking around the hospital trying to find her owner. She was on a quest to find her human mom, but she did not really know where to go. But she was in luck, a security guard found Sissy and read her tags and called the phone number. Sarah, the Franck’s daughter went to pick up Sissy. The hospital has a strict rule that no pets are allowed. But on this day, Sissy was allowed to visit Nancy at her bedside and spend the night.
This tale may not be one of a heroic dog saving lives, but it is a great tale of determination!
Major- The Pit Bull Lab Cross and Heroic Dog
Zanesville, Ohio: Major is a service dog for Terry McGlade a veteran who was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Terry had fallen unconscious with a seizure. His dog Major had somehow retrieved Terry’s phone out of his pocket and stepped on the screen dialing 911.
The dispatcher who answered the call did not know what that the emergency was since Major is a dog and unable to speak, but he knew that someone was in trouble and sent over the police. When police got there, they were greeted by Major who was waiting anxiously to bring them to Terry so that they could assist him.
Dogs have been trained to be service dogs that can report emergencies and help their handlers that are in trouble. Major is a service dog who can sense when seizures are coming and help his handler cope with PTSD. He was not trained in dialing a phone number. He just knew that he had to do something to save his owner.
Yeti- The Pit Bull Mix
Wet Beaver Creek, Arizona: Yeti, a pit bull mix was adopted by the Lennox family. The family was on an outing at Wet Beaver Creek when disaster struck! Fallon their 6-year-old son, fell into the water. He had not learned to swim yet, and any water could be very deadly to the boy. Good thing that Yeti was paying attention to. He jumped into the water and pulled Fallon out of the creek.
That day could have ended in tragedy. When the Lennox family went to the humane society looking for a family dog, they were going to pass on Yeti, due to the fact that he was too big. In the end, it was fate that they chose Yeti as his size and heroic move is what saved Fallon’s life.
Chrome- The Shelter Dog
Bastrop County, Texas: The Smith family was at home sleeping when a fire broke out in the house. Luckily their dog Chrome was able to wake everyone up, alert them to the fire, and get everyone out safely.
Some argue that dogs are not really alerting humans of danger by barking, but simply expressing their fear, however,that is not always the case.
Chrome, however, seemed genuinely concerned about the family’s wellbeing. He stayed with Laura until she was awake and aware of what was happening, then he tore down the hallway to rescue the boys. The boy’s smoke detector never even went off.
Thanks to Chrome the family was saved, and to think that Chrome was hard to place because of his high energy. His high energy just might have been the ingredient that helped save the family! Another great tale of heroic dogs.
Rex- The German Shepherd
Ah, the German Shepherd, also known as Protectors. This tale is one of a brave and heroic dog that almost lost his life to save the life of a teen during a home invasion.
Des Moines, Wash: Rex a 2-year-old German shepherd was at home with his 16-year-old owner Javier, when their house was invaded by robbers.
Javier hid in the closet upstairs with Rex while the men were downstairs. However, when the intruders got closer to finding them, Rex burst out of the closet to confront them. Rex then ran down the stairs barking loudly to scare the intruders and was able to eventually bite one of the men but was shot multiple times as a result.
The men eventually left as one of them was hurt badly by Rex biting him.
Rex required emergency surgery, but he made a full recovery! And as a result was reunited with his family. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals heard of this heroic story and so Rex was honored for his courage and presented with Heroic Dog Award in Seattle. “In risking his life to protect his young guardian, this brave dog demonstrated how intelligent and sensitive animals are”, said PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien.
Javier is amazed by his dog’s heroic actions and thanks Rex every day for protecting him and keeping him alive during the scary home invasion.
Conclusion
I don’t know about you, but I was a teary mess after learning about the last tale. Dogs are truly amazing. They love us and protect us with every fiber in their bodies.
Not only are dogs loyal and great companions, but they are also heroic.
I read a saying once by a little boy who had lost his dog Belker to cancer. The family was with Belker while the doctor was putting him to sleep, and they were all wondering out loud why dog’s lives are shorter than humans.
That is when Shane their 6-year-old said:
“I know why”. “People are born so that they can learn to live a good life – like loving everybody all the time and being nice”. “Well dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do”
Shane
Well said Shane, well said.
FAQ
What dog breeds are used for search and rescue?
German shepherds, American Labrador Retrievers, golden retrievers, bloodhounds, border collies, and Belgian Malinois are used as search and rescue dogs.
Bibliography
- CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hero-dog-rex-protects-16-year-old-home-invasion/
- The Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/07/18/this-golden-retriever-jumped-into-the-water-to-save-a-baby-deer-from-drowning.html
- Time Magazine: How Dogs Think – Amazing Tales of Amazing Dogs Doing Utterly Amazing Things
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