119 Amazingly Heroic Life-Saving Dogs of The Past 100 years Brave Heroic Military and Police Dogs Search & Rescue Brave Dogs Dogs that Save Lifes Heroic Dogs in Movies & Books Saving Life Dogs Memorable Dogs & Hero Dog stories Medicine Therapic Hero Dogs Hero Dog Clalendars Hero Dogs in Movies Dog Awards
119 HEROIC AMAZINGLY BRAVE LIFE-SAVING DOGS OF THE PAST 100 YEARS This information is proudly presented by WWW.BOREDPANDA.COM and WWW.OUTDOOR DOGWORLD.COM and WWW.FEEDFOND.COM and WWW.THERICHEST.COM and WWW.INSPIREMORE.COM and Giedre Vaiciulaityte and Kimberly White
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, from teachers and firefighters just doing their jobs every day to your Everyday Joe who jumps into the ocean to save a drowning girl. When they see danger, they think nothing of their own well-being and instead focus on helping others in their time of need. But there are some lesser-known heroes in our midst, as well. The service dogs and military working dogs, the pit bulls who throw themselves over their owners to protect them from an oncoming train, and the German shepherds who search day and night through rubble to find survivors. Their loyalty truly knows no bounds.
1. Sandy the Pomeranian, ran into a burning house to save her best friend, a blind Chihuahua.
2. In Eastern Congo, these hounds work with their handlers to track down and arrest poachers.
3. Tater Tot was just hours from being euthanized when he was taken into a foster home. Less than a week later, his 4-year-old "brother" stopped breathing and fell unconscious. This pit bull would not stop barking until someone came to help.
4. This German shepherd search and rescue dog, like so many others, worked tirelessly to find survivors trapped in the rubble in the aftermath of 9/11.
5. As this graduate's service dog, this 6 year old Lab was instrumental in helping her graduate, so he got to don a cap and gown too!
6. While out on a walk with his owner, this dog found and helped save another dog that had been buried alive.
7. Sgt. Stubby is a decorated war hero from World War I who saved troops from mustard attacks and comforted the wounded and dying, among other heroics.
8. This Rottweiler, a service dog, called 911 for help after his owner fell, then even opened the door when emergency responders arrived.
9. Luca, trained for search-and-rescue, was pulled out of retirement to help find a missing man who suffered from Alzheimer's.
10. Layka, a Belgian Malinois, suffered numerous gunshots while subduing an insurgent during an attack in Afghanistan. She was later given a medal of honor for her service.
11. Molly, a blind lab, alerted her family to a house fire in late 2016, saving the lives of 7 humans, 4 cats and 2 dogs.
12. Maggie was caught on surveillance camera breaking out of her kennel at a boarding facility, then curling up outside a kennel that housed two frightened puppies.
13. Babu the Shih Tzu, begged her owner to go outside, pulled her in the opposite direction of the beach, and ended up rescuing her from a Tsunami
14. Lilly, another pit bull, was walking with her owner on railroad tracks when her owner tripped and fell - as a train was rapidly approaching. She threw her body over her owner to protect her, and lost a leg in the process.
15. During a walk with his new owner, this rescue dog found an injured hummingbird, but there's no way he'd let it die on his watch. He refused to leave the bird, so he and his new owner worked together to bring it back to 100%
16. A pit bull named Akasha never had puppies, but that does not mean she did not have a maternal instinct. Her owner saved a little kitten then came back and found her beloved pet nursing the little one.
17. Chief protected his owner from a venomous Eastern Diamondback.
18. This brave dog rushed into a burning building and came back out - with a kitten!
19. This mama risked her own life to rescue her litter of 10 week old puppies from a house fire in Chile, placing them all on the fire truck and out of harm's way.
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20. When this 5 year old pit bull saw that two coyotes had his buddy, Kitty, by her head and tail, he showed absolutely no fear. Jumping into the fray, he managed to chase them away.
21. Major, a service pit bull, is credited with saving his owner's life. When he had a seizure and collapsed, this faithful dog pulled the phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.
22. Paris, a boxer, is a hero for Mother Earth. Whenever she goes out for walks, she always takes a moment to pick up plastic bottles, discarded cans and other litter.
23. Norbert, an emotional support dog, may be little, but he is worth his weight in gold for the children he makes smile at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
24. This Golden retriever surfs with kids with special needs, people who have disabilities and veterans suffering from PTSD.
25. Stitch, born with a cleft lip and palate, serves as an inspiration for children who are feeling anxious about surgeries to correct their own birth defects.
26. Geo, He was small and just 8 months old but, his act was far more heroic for his age. This puppy pushed Charles Riley out of the way and saved him from being hit by a truck. He was hit and run over instead.
27. Kelsey, This five year old Golden retriever saved his owner's life by keeping him warm at a temperature of -4C by lying on top of him for 24 hours. The owner was wearing long johns, a shirt, and slippers when he went outside for a few minutes. Unfortunately, he slipped and broke his neck. His dog Kelsey braked throughout the night for help and licked his hands and face to keep him awake.
28. Figo, He jumped between in front of a bus heading towards his blind owner and taking most of the hit in the process.
29. Bretagne, She was the last surviving 9/11 rescue dog. At the time of the incident, she was 2 years old. she survived until the age of 16 years.
30. Chako, He took 12 stab wounds for his owner who was being attacked by an abusive partner.
31. Storm saved an injured baby deer from drowning. Good Doggo Storm.
32. Rex, was adopted by Ed Gernon. Rex found a dying hummingbird whom he took back with him; together he and Ed nursed the hummingbird back to health.
33. Sam, He was a search and rescue dog in the PA for 10 years who helped find over 300 children.
34. Kabang, She saved two children from being involved in a motorcycle crash. She got knocked over instead and lost half her face.
35. Katy Mae, Katy saved her owner Jerry Flanigan when he was attacked by two pit bulls by lying down on top of him and shielding his neck from being bitten.
36. Jack saved Kitty when she was being attacked by two coyotes.
37. Max, When his owner were attacked by armed robbers, the brave Max saved his owner by taking three bullets for him.
38. Duke saved a 9-week old baby by alerting the baby's parents.
39. China, She found an abandoned on a winter night in the fields and took the baby back to keep with her own newborn puppies in the pen. The human caretaker later found the baby.
40. Buster, When Buster's owner fell unconscious on the floor, Buster saved his life by alerting his wife with his loud barks.
41. Roselle, On 9/11, Roselle led her owner Michael Hingson from the 78th floor, away from the collapsing buildings to a friend's house in mid-Manhattan.
42. Cooper, The Super Pooper. The Hero Dog Who Saved Me From Drowning And Detected My Heart Attack Before I Knew It
43. K-9 Officer Kasper Was Shot Protecting His Partner
44. Porkchop, A 1 year old Search and Rescue dog who worked relentlessly at Ground Zero after 9/11 attacks
45. Mercey, She protected her 30-year old female owner from intruders who broke into their apartment, sustaining life-threatening injuries in the process.
46. Abbie helped saved Benjamin's life by alerting Benjamin's mother know that Benjamin was choking.
47. Frida saved 52 people during Mexico's earthquake.
48. Callie and Abby - They saved their 4 year old owner Angelis from a fox that tried to drag her away.
49. Eve - The Butcher Dog Redeemed. She pulled her paraplegic mommy to a place where the ambulance could pick her up after the truck they were driving crashed and before the truck exploded.
50. Honey - Natural Born Hero. Honey was honored at 5 months old for saving her owner who had flipped his truck.
51. Zoey fended off a snake from attacking an infant in the Colorado desert in 2007, even sustaining a snake bite.
52. Shana, This German Shepherd wolf mix amazed upstate New York firefighters who arrived at Eve and Norman Fertig's home to find their Shana had dug a 20 ft. tunnel from the couple's home to where they had been trapped outside in a snowstorm by fallen trees and had dragged the elderly Fertigs back to the warmth of their house, sustaining serious injury to her paws in the process.
53. Toby Parkhurst is another golden retriever who saved the day back in 2007 by jumping onto Calvert, MD resident and owner Debbie Parkhurst's chest to dislodge the food she was choking on when Toby noticed Parkhurst was having trouble doing so on her own.
54. Dayko saved people from crumbling rubble, seven Ecuadorians from the jaws of an earthquake to be specific.
55. Norman retrieved a struggling human from the clutches of certain injury or death.
56. Miley. Early morning, dead of winter. Miley, the beloved family pet, a Border Collie from Australia, was particularly restless and would not stop waking the Pitts matriarch Stacie, up. Stacie, her 6 year old stepdaughter, and fiancรฉe finally took heed when all three woke up to splitting headaches. Doctors said that if Miley had not woken them up sooner, Pitt and family would have coughed themselves "silly".
57. Brutis, One bite from some snakes, like the 16" red, black, and white / gold striped coral snake that ventured too close to Golden Retriever Brutis' 2 and 4-year old wards in 2004, is enough to send anybody to the emergency room.
58. Moti protected his family from a robber - a masked gunman holding up their liquor store who shot the dog before fleeing and before he could steal a thing.
59. Katrina saved a drowning man when Katrina the hurricane flooded a magical city called New Orleans.
60. Napoleon leaped into a Michigan lake, not Lake Michigan, and swimming back to shore with a burlap sack filled with six, eventually healthy kittens.
61. Angel. A bobcat is a wildcat that, like wolves, cannot be kept safely as pets. Austin and his family were living in the north of the northernmost country in North America the day that a bobcat lunged at him. Angel intercepted the flying cat, and both boy and dog survived, though Angel sustained a serious claw swipe to the face.
62. Pitbull Baby Saved The Entire Family When Fire Broke Out In Their House One Night, While Everyone Was Asleep. She Not Only Alerted The Family, But Ran Back Into The Flames To Rescue The Five Family Dogs, Even Dragging One Scared Pooch Out Of The Burning House
63. Peaches. The Wonder Pit Started Out As A Rescue Dog Scheduled To Be Euthanized, But Was Rescued And Became Not Only A Therapy Dog Lending Emotional Support For People, Like Boston Marathon Bombing Witnesses, But Also American Pit Bull Foundation's Mascot
64. Lefty Jumped In Front Of Her Owner And Took A Bullet When They Were Attacked. The Dog Suffered Extreme Injuries And Her Leg Had To Be Amputated
65. Peanut Survived Horrific Animal Cruelty Saved The Life Of A 3 Year Old Girl
66. Whizz saved Nine People And One Fellow Dog From Drowning And Was Honored With A Posthumous Award For His Lifesaving Work
67. Atlas. After coming home from Iraq, Atlas' owner struggled with PTSD. After regular visits to VA doctor, he ended up on a cocktail of 33 pills that left him feeling hazy and helpless. Wanting to make a change he adopted Atlas, who has turned out to be a lifesaver.
68. Lucca - A Retired US Marine Corp Dog, Has Been Awarded The PDSA Dickin Medal
69. Aladdin - he was a certified therapy dog and an unstoppable multi-hyphenate. Aladdin is a Ronald McDonald House Ambassador dog, visiting schools to help with anti-bullying programs. He is also a trained crisis response dog and spent a week in Orlando last year after the Pulse nightclub shooting doing therapy visits and fundraising for the Victims Fund.
70. Orlando Saved A Life Of His Blind Owner. He Attempted To Stop His Unconscious Owner From Falling Onto The New York City Subway Tracks. Both Fell But Escaped Injury
71. Adak has sniffed out explosives before they could detonate during large events, assisted in rescuing hostages during complex terrorist attacks and has helped to protect dignitaries across the globe. He is now retired and has easily transitioned into a undramatic home life.
72. Naida. 4 year old Andrei Pavlov was feeding ducks near his home in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, when he fell through the ice into the freezing water of a pond. A stray dog named Naida immediately began barking frantically. Naida had followed Andrei around that day, which Andrei's mother says shows the dog had a premonition of trouble. A woman who feeds the stray dogs of the Siberian city responded to Naida's barking and followed the dog back to the pond. Nearby workers helped her pull the boy out of the freezing water. Andrei spent a few days in the hospital recovering.
73. Yogi - the Valor Dog of the Year, The Humane Society of the United States named Yogi, a golden retriever, the 2011 Valor Dog of the Year for saving his owner's life after a bicycle accident.
74. Nemo - He is best known for attacking and killing two VietCongs in Vietnam
75. Chips - He saved the lives of soldiers from fire.
76. Barry, the St. Bernard is the world's most successful rescue dog. He saved 40 (!)Mancs people.
77. Mancs - A famous rescue dog from Hungary. Mancs was known for his keen sense of smell and the clear signal he sent to rescuers to indicate if someone was alive under the rubble.
78. Balto - A black and white husky named Balto was the lead sled dog for Gunner Kaasen's sled team on the last leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska. He led the team through hazardous blizzards and ice to deliver the critical medicine to the citizens of Nome, and gained fame in the process.
79. Togo - Togo was a Siberian Husky who traveled a round trip of 325 miles through subzero temperatures of the arctic to hand off a diphtheria serum for the citizens of Nome, Alaska. At one point during the trip, Seppala was unable to see through the storm, but Togo led the team in a straight line through the dark to safety.
80. Smoky the terrier! Because Smoky wasn't brought over as a war dog, she did not have the same diet and medical access as the other dogs. Even still, she survived and thrived on sharing her keeper, William Wynne's, rations.
81. Layka a mixed-breed Soviet space dog, was the first animal in space and the first animal to orbit the earth. She was a stray selected from the streets of Moscow to go through with the mission. At the time, de-orbiting had not been attempted, and Laika's mission had a ill fate. She would not be returned to earth after takeoff, and reportedly died from overheating several hours into the flight.
82. Hachiko - An Akita dog in Japan, Hachikowas known to be an example of animal loyalty and fidelity. He faithfully met his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, at the Shibuya train station at the end of each work day. The two met at the station to walk home each day from 1924-1925 before Ueno suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage. Hachiko continued waiting at the train station for Ueno each day for the next nine years, nine months, and fifteen days until his death in 1935.
83. Rags was a mixed-breed terrier war dog adopted by the 1st Division in 1918 during WWI. He was trained to deliver messages between the front lines and headquarters. Rags was celebrated for delivering an important, life-saving message to the front lines despite having been gassed, bombed, and partially blinded on the way. He was presented numerous awards and medals for his service and later became celebrated in magazines and newspapers.
84. Zanjeer - This Labrador retriever saved thousands of lives during the serial bomb blasts in March 1993 by detecting more than 3,329 kg of the explosive RDX, 600 detonators, 249 hand grenades, and 6,406 rounds of live ammunition.
Man's best friend can be heroic. They can lead the blind, find explosives and rescue people. But as heroic as dogs can be, they're not superheroic. But some dogs go further, using amazing superpowers and rocking awesome capes.
EMERGING HERO DOGS CATEGORY GUIDE DOG CATEGORY HEARING DOG CATEGORY LAW ENFORCEMENT/ARSON DOG CATEGORY MILITARY DOG CATEGORY SEARCH AND RESCUE DOG CATEGORY SERVICE DOG CATEGORY THERAPY DOG CATEGORY
9/11 USA HERO DOGS This information is proudly presented by WWW.PETCENTRIC.COM and WWW.CESARWAY.COM and Nona Kilgore Bauer author of "Dog Heroes of September 11th: A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs."
Apollo A search and rescue dog who served with the K-9 unit of the NYPD, Appollo was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animals' equivalent of the Victoria Cross, in recognition of the work done by all search and rescue dogs following the September 11 attacks.
A German Shepherd born around 1992, he and his handler, Peter Davies, were called in to assist with the rescue operations after the September 11 terror attacks. They arrived at the World Trade Center site fifteen minutes after the attack, making Appollo the first search and rescue dog to arrive at the site after the collapse of the World Trade Center. At one point, Appollo was almost killed by flames and falling debris. However, he survived, having been drenched after falling into a pool of water just before this incident. Appollo started working again as soon as Davies had brushed the debris off him. He died in November 2006.
Roselle The winner of the 2011 Hero Dog Awards in the Guide Dogs category, went to a Labrador Retriever named Roselle. Roselle led her owner, Michael Hingson, down 78 flights of stairs in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The honor was given to Roselle posthumously, as she passed away in June of this year.
Abby In honor of the heroic dogs who served at Ground Zero, we present this 2011 profile of Abby, reprinted from Cesar's Way magazine. Abby passed away two years ago this month. Ten years after that fateful day, a rescue dog named Abby is enjoying her retirement.
At first glance, Abby the black Lab doesn't look her age. There are very few gray hairs on her muzzle, and shes as alert and intelligent as she ever was. Watch her on her daily walks with Debra Tosch, though, and you can see the decline. The back legs are starting to go, and she just cant move the way she used to. At 14, Abby is an elderly dog in the twilight of her life.
But what a life she's had! Abby's a retired search-and-rescue dog, and she and Debra, who was her handler, worked in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. They also worked California's deadly La Conchita mudslide in 2005. Just two days before she retired, on her 11th birthday, Abby searched for survivors at the scene of a train wreck in California. And she's one of the few dogs still living who hunted through the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center desperately seeking signs of life after the September 11 attacks 10 years ago.
Debra, executive director of the Search Dog Foundation, which rescues puppies and trains them for search and rescue, was a handler attached to the Los Angeles City Task Force the day the Twin Towers fell. She and Abby were attending a FEMA conference in Washington State when she got the call. Since planes were grounded, she and the other California-based handlers rented two vans and drove cross country to New York. By September 20, she and Abby reported for duty at Ground Zero.
"We worked 12-hour shifts." Recalls Debra. "Of course the dog handlers worked longer days than that because we had to get up early to feed and care for our dogs and tend to the them at the end of the day. I'd just stumble back to the Jacob Javits Convention Center, where we were staying, take a shower and give Abby one too. Then it was about four hours sleep and another day searching the ruins.
Riley Riley, a golden retriever, (handler, Chris Selfridge) in his most memorable moment. In order to search the top of what was left of the North Tower, A Stokes basket was set up to transport Riley over a canyon 60 to 70 feet deep. At first after being strapped in, he seemed nervous, but then just lay down and waitede while he was transported over the void to his waiting handler.
Louie Louie, a golden retriever, (handler, Amy Rising.) This haunting photograph was the inspiration for the book, "Dog Heroes of September 11th: A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs."
Anna Anna, a golden retriever, handler, (Rick Lee), checks an underground area with Rick, but sadly she does not alert to the presence of anyone alive. Anna and Rick were among the first teams to report to Ground Zero on the 12th.
Willow Willow, a labrador retriever, (handler, Bobbie Snyder), training on a simulated rubble pile helped prepare her for the job site she faced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Here Willow makes a "find" during a training session. As there were no people found alive at Ground Zero, sometimes someone acted as a plant for the dogs to find, so that the ones trained to "live find" would not become too discouraged.
Dusty Dusty, a golden retriever and handler, Randy Gross. Randy relates that the dogs performed better than he could have ever imagined. They flew across dangerous terrain like it was a field of grass, where at any point they could have slipped and fallen into a black hole of torn metal. There were areas that were considered unsafe for people to go into, but the dogs went in with no problem.
Thea Thea, a labrador retriever and handler, Elena de Mesa. I was struck by all the protective clothing that the emergency workers and handlers wore against the contrast of the totally unprotected dogs.
Gus Gus, a labrador retriever, (handler Ed Apple) being checked in the decontamination area. Dogs worked in rotations of 12-hour shifts. After or during shifts when needed, they were taken to the veterinary-care tents to be examined and bathed and have their eyes, ears and noses flushed.
Cowboy Cowboy, a border collie, (handler, Dave Richards) "loved the firefighters. He always found a piece of wood or a stick and would throw it down in front of them, wagging his tail and demand that they play with him. They all started calling him "that cowboy dog.'
He really did his part in making those firefighters forget their sadness for those few minutes every day." From the book, "Dog Heroes of September 11th."
Kaiser Kaiser, a german shepherd, and handler, Tony Zintsmaster. Even though Kaiser suffered an injury to his paw on his second day of work, after being bandaged up, he wanted to go right back to work.
Jenner Jenner, a labrador retriever, (handler, Ann Wichmann), when taking a break from searching, was comforting the other emergency workers. "He seemed to understand the deep grief that pervaded everyone on the site."
Storm Storm, a german shepherd and his handler, David Sanabria. The dogs work for rewards, often being a toy to play with. Storm is excited about getting a water bottle as his toy reward.
Hawk Hawk, an australian shepherd, (handler, Cathy Schiltz) is trained for human remains detection as well as live find so he was eager to search regardless of the task. Due to his skills, the police and firefighters would ask for "that hawk dog" because they quickly learned that when he made an alert, they would find someone.
Otto Otto, a german shepherd, (handler, Sonja Heritage) almost invisible in a huge pile of rubble at the Pentagon. The massive destruction at the Pentagon site did not hinder search and rescue dog Otto.
Dusty (retriever) Dusty, a labrador retriever, (handler, Mary Berry) performing his mission - to help recover the remains of all the victims of this national tragedy. Like all of the search dogs working there, he tirelessly worked to the best of his abillity to meet that challenge.
Radar Radar, a labrador retriever and his handler, Amir Findling, working at the Fresh Kills landfill after rescue workers rake out a pile of debris, making it easier for the dog to search for remains of the victims of the World Trade Center attack.
Louie (boxer) Louie, a boxer, (handler, Michele Verral) was the only member of the boxer breed to work search and rescue during the September 11 tragedy. Louis was able to make numerous finds very quickly, using his nose to locate for example, 14 finds in about 20 minutes. A dog's sense of smell is highly developed. We humans have approximately five million sensory cells in our noses, dogs, have about 125 - 200 million sensory cells.
Ivey Ivey, a german shepherd and her handler Nancy Hachmeister. Ivey is certified in not only urban disaster search, (having worked at Ground Zero) but also in wilderness search and avalanche search amoung others. She seems quite comfortable as she dangles here in this photograph.
Bretagne (Brittany) Bretagne, pronounced, (Brittany) a golden retriever and her handler, Denise Cortiss. Utilizing their noses for recovery of fallen victims and offering their furry presence for comfort of the workers, all of the search and rescue dogs were American's unsung heroes.
READ THE BOOK ABOUT 9/11 HEROIC BRAVE DOGS By NONA KILGOREBAUER
Please, note: the photos below may be not of the actual dog
The blind, deaf, three-legged dog who saved his owners from a fire.
Katie Crosley awoke to her dog, True, yapping away at her bedside. She opened her bedroom door to a wall of flames. She grabbed her infant child and True and navigated her way out of the burning home. This blind, deaf, three-legged dog saved an entire family
Elle On Saturday, Elle's efforts earned her the honor of being named the 2013 American Hero Dog by the American Humane Association, beating out other finalists who had their own tales of heroism, like Carlos, an explosive detector dog (EDD) who worked in Iraq and Afghanistan, and John D, a rescue dog who uses his scenting capabilities to detect cancer in patients.
The dog who performed the Heimlich maneuver on his owner.
Debbie Parkhurst was eating an apple at her home when a piece became lodged in her throat. She attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver on herself, but it didn't work. After she began beating on her chest, her dog, Toby, pushed her to the ground and began jumping up and down on her chest. The apple dislodged, and Toby started licking her face to keep her from passing out.
The dog who pushed a panic button for his disabled owner. Judith Shaw, who suffers from glaucoma, blacked out after suffering extreme pains in her chest and back. When she awoke, her dog, Louie, was calling for assistance. Louie had pressed the panic button and was yelping into the intercom. Judith trained Louie to use the button, which provides a hotline to care services, so help was on its way.
The dog who saved his owner with Crohn's disease. Michael, who suffers from Crohn's disease, was unable to climb the stairs to his bedroom, so he slept on the downstairs couch. Michael's wife, Barbara, was asleep upstairs when their usually quiet dog, Buster, suddenly began barking. Buster began barking in the direction of the bedroom door, prompting Barbara to check on her husband. Barbara found Michael unconscious on the floor and in critical condition. Barbara rushed Michael to the hospital, where he was revived.
The dog who saved a 14-month-old child from drowning. Patricia Drauch was walking to her garage when her 14-month-old, Stanley, disappeared from her sight. She went to her pool and saw that Stanley was blue and lying on his back. Her dog, Bear, was keeping Stanley's head above water by balancing him on his back. Bear refused to move, or even bark, until Patricia got in the pool to retrieve her son. Bear saved Stanley's life that day.
The dog who notified parents of an abusive babysitter. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan began to notice something was strange when their dog, Killian, used to stand between the new babysitter and their son, Finn, and growl. Killian is usually kind to everyone. On a hunch, Finn's parents placed a phone underneath the couch to record the babysitter. In the recording, the babysitter was heard hitting the child and screaming obscenities at the young boy. She is now facing jail time.
The dog who saved his new family only six hours after being adopted. Lee and Elizabeth Littler rescued a dog they named Hercules and took him home. Only six hours after they brought him home, Hercules started charging at the screen door to the basement. Mr. and Mrs. Littler ran downstairs to find Hercules chasing an intruder away who was trying to enter the home.
The rescue dog who saved a baby's life. Jenna Brousseau says she and her husband were sound asleep when their dog, Duke, ran into the room, jumped on the bed, and started shaking uncontrollably. Duke is typically mild-mannered, so his hysteria alarmed Jenna, who then went to check on her baby. There, she discovered her 9-week-old daughter, Harper, not breathing. They called paramedics, who successfully revived her.
The stray dog who kept a lost boy warm in 14-degree weather. A 7-year-old boy in Siberia was trying to rescue a stray dog in a nine-foot deep roadside service bank when he accidentally slipped in himself. No one could find the missing boy until more than 72 hours later when road workers heard the exhausted barks of a dog from the pit. The dog had wrapped itself around the boy and prevented him from getting hypothermia, therefore saving his life.
Brutis was a 7 year old golden retriever when he became a hero in 2004. That's when the loveable pooch snatched up a coral snake as it was slithering dangerously close to a young child, suffering a near-deadly bite from the snake in the process. His heroics did not go unnoticed however, as Brutis was promptly flown to Los Angeles to recieve the National Hero Dog award. Said the committee who awarded the medal, "when we give an award like this, we're looking for something extra, something that would make people wonder why a dog would do what he did.
Everyone knows that smaller dogs have to display in attitude what they lack in size, and Zoey is living proof. A five pound chihuahua from Colorado, Zoey made headlines in 2007 for rescuing a one year old child from an approaching three foot rattlesnake when the snake got too close for comfort. While Zoey sustained a small wound from a snakebite above her eye, she eventually recovered and the snake was killed by the dog's owner.
Hurricane Katrina was a miserable occurance for everyone down south, but inspiring stories of heroism have helped give victims something to smile about. That's certainly the case with Katrina, the ironically named black labrador who saved a drowning man before rising flood waters claimed his life. The dog, who was later rescued herself by rescue teams, was honored at that year's Genesis Awards with a standing ovation.
In a Fox News story titled "Half-Breed Wolf Dog Hero Rescues Elderly Owners From Snowstorm" readers learn the heroic tale of Shana, a half wolf dog/half German shepard who saved an elderly couple from a treacherous snow storm. When Shana found Norman and Eve trapped by snow, she went to work, diligently digging out a tunnel through which she would pull the couple back to the safety of their home.
You don't get to be the 2008 Dog of the Year for nothing, and this pooch is no exception. Maya took home this year's honors for courageously saving Angela Marcelino, her owner, from a vicious male attacker. The pitbull's act of bravery earned some high praise from the Animal Miracle foundation, who was happy to report that "the pitbull breed can be hero dogs just like any other breed.
2007's Dog of the Year winner was Moti the five year old German Shepherd who literally took a bullet for his human family.
When a masked intruder made his way into the Patel household, Moti wasted little time, leaping to his feet and barking to draw the gunman's attention. Faced with the angry pooch, the gunman shot him and ran off without harming any of the Patels. Luckily, this furry hero is making a full recovery!
Honey was the 2006 Dog of the Year, an award she earned by saving her owner from a violent car accident. When she and Michael Bosch found their SUV rolled over and stuck upside down in a deep ravine, Bosch was trapped and knew that Honey was his only hope. With all his strength, he managed to release the dog and hope that she would somehow find help. Sure enough, the then 5 month old English Cocker Spaniel got the attention of a man about a half-mile away and brought him to the scene of the accident. Rescuers concluded that had it not been for this, Bosch would have died.
Cats and dogs are always made out to be enemies, but this not always so! Enter Napoleon, the English Bulldog who defied the poor swimming skills of his breed to swim deep out into a lake and rescue a burlap sack containing 6 abandoned kittens! While two of the kittens didn't make it, the other four were nursed back to health, leading to a hero's welcome for Napoleon back at the local adoption center.
In a truly heartwarming story, a four year old Golden Retriever was credited with saving a paralyzed man who got his wheelchair stuck in the middle of a muddy field. When Gareth Jones found himself unable to move, the former soldier's service dog was ready to answer the call, dutifully pulling the rope Jones threw to him until the wheelchair was pulled free. Said Jones, "He didn't let go until I was clear. He knew exactly what he was doing."
Everyone loves those heart-pounding movie scenes where the hero escapes a burning pit seconds before it explodes, but it's not so fun in real life. That's what Kathie, a paralyzed parapalegic, learned when her Rotweiller (Eve) pulled her by the ankles from her burning, smoldering truck. Upon pulling Kathie out, Eve proceeded to drag her to a nearby ditch, just far enough away to avoid the explosion of her vehicle. After firemen cleared the scene, Eve was awarded the Stillman Award for her bravery.
Is Ginny a traitor to canine's everywhere, or an undisputed hero? The 300 cats who attended her memorial service would probably say the latter, paying homage to a dog who endangered herself on multiple occasions to save dying or stranded cats from peril. On one particularly remarkable occasion, Ginny threw herself against a vertical pipe at a construction site so that it would topple and the stranded cats inside could escape. Another time, Ginny suffered severe cuts on her paws to find an injured cat inside a box of broken glass.
Trakr owns arguably the most prestigious rescue on our list. Together with police officer James Symington, Trakr helped dig through some 30 feet of unstable debris at the World Trade Center "ground zero" site and locate the last human survivor of the attack. The dog's bravery was so celebrated that he is going to be cloned for use in other police rescue forces!
Shelby became the 45th Skippy Dog Hero of the Year for saving two adults and two children from carbon monoxide poisoning. The dog (with her keen sense of smell) was the first to detect the rising C0 levels while the rest of the family was asleep, nudging each of them out of their sleep and refused to stop barking, scratching, and whining until the family was safely outside. Luckily, each family member was treated at a nearby hospital and made a full recovery. "In my eyes, and in the eyes of my family, Shelby is more than a hero; she is a lifesaver, a guardian angel," said Joleen Walderbach.
A Lakewood, Colorado police dog Rocky made headlines in 2002 for chasing down a burglar, taking a bullet in the process and ultimately helping to capture the 20 year old thug. According to Darren Mauer, the dog's officer/partner, the bullet to Rocky's paw never slowed him down. "He was the same dog after as he was before."
Most people wouldn't dare to go one on one with an alligator, but that's exactly that Blue did to take home 2001 "Dog Hero of the Year" honors. The Australian Blue Heeler saved Ruth Gay, his 85 year old owner, from an alligator attack behind her home. Reportedly, Ms. Gay had fallen while walking Blue. When a nearby gator lumbered over, threatening to attack, Blue charged into action and sparred with the gator long enough to scare it away. Both Gay and Blue made full recoveries, and blue was awarded with doggie treats, cash, and a specially engraved Dog Hero food bowl.
Blue's runner up to the 2001 award was Patty, a yellow lab retreiver who saved her owner from drowning while on a winter duck hunting excursion. After Ray Fogg's boat capsized and dumped the two into frigid North Atlantic waters, Patty allowed him to grab hold of her tail while she vigorously doggy-paddled against the powerful current. They made it all the way to the nearest land, where they were rescued by game wardens later on that evening.
This 11 month old Siberian husky earned his hero stripes by getting human help for his imperiled owner, Marci Snead. When Snead (a diabetic with fibromyalsia and rheumatoid arthritis) went into hypoglycemic shock, Neo ran to the nearest building. There, he grabbed the attention of several people who followed Neo back to where Snead had fallen. Within moments, an ambulance was called and the women carted off to a nearby hospital, where she recovered completely.
It's not every day that a dog saves its family from armed pirates at sea, but amazingly, that's exactly what Kankuntu did. When Peter Lee found himself about to be hijacked on his 41 foot yacht by armed pursuers, the dog (who "thinks he's a lion") leapt right into action, furiously attacking the gunmen until one of them shot and stabbed the pooch between his shoulder blades. Amazingly, the dog was nursed back to the health and the family continued with their voyage.
Don't let the name fool you; there was nothing "junior" or small about this dog's effort. As fire tore through the Davilmar household in the middle of the night, the 14 month old shihtzu mix started barking and did not relent until everyone (including the family's half-dozen visiting relatives) was awake and out of the house.
In a nearly unbelievably story titled "Dog Makes Cell Phone Call to Save Owner's Life" readers learn about Belle, a beagle who literally bit "911" into Kevin Weaver's cell phone after the diabetic man collapsed from a seizure. Said Weaver, "there's no doubt in my mind that I'd be dead if I didn't have Belle", who became the first canine to win VITA's Wireless Samaritan Award. Evidently, the pooch had been trained to bite down on the phone's keypad in the event of an emergency!
MSNBC tells the story of Toby, a golden retriever who heroically saved owner Debbie Parkhurst from choking to death on an apple in her Maryland home. When it became apparent that she was choking, the dog leapt hard onto her chest and forced the lodged morsel to come loose from her throat. For his efforts, Toby took home a share of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' "Dog of the Year" award in 2007.
Nyla is another dog that risked her own life to save her human owner from the threat of fire. When Sheila found herself surrounded by smoke and flames, unable to see in front of her, Nyla courageously buided her toward a nearby door, barking whenever Sheila lost track of her. While her home and belongings were destroyed, Sheila was guided to safety, noting that "Nyla could have left anytime. Instead, she chose to stay and risk her own life and face death to save me."
Roselle When Michael Hingson found himself on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, it took some unexpected heroics from his yellow labrador to save his life. When the building started to sway and the air filled with choking smoke, Roselle lead Michael to safety, guiding him through the crumbling office toward a stairwell. It wasn't easy for Michael or Roselle, who was panting and extremely thirsty, but the two managed to reach safety just moments before Tower 1 collapsed.
All dogs are known for their super-sharp hearing, but most of them don't win awards for it. But when Nellie, a 4 year old black lab, used her high powered ears to detect an intruder in time to save her severely deaf owner, it would've been a crime to give the Heroic Hearing Dog of the Year award to anyone else! The charity that trained Nellie couldn't have been more proud.
Kaze
earned top honors from the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department for saving the life of a woman in her late 20's, reported missing a few days earlier. On his first ever rescue mission, Kaze located the missing woman under a bridge, in a coma that authorities later reported that would have killed her within the hour if she had not been found. Luckily, the woman was rushed to a hospital, where she recovered after a week's time.
Four year old Andrei Pavlov was feeding ducks near his home in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, when he fell through the ice into the freezing water of a pond. A stray dog named Naida immediately began barking frantically. Naida had followed Andrei around that day, which Andrei's mother says shows the dog had a premonition of trouble. A woman who feeds the stray dogs of the Siberian city responded to Naida's barking and followed the dog back to the pond. Nearby workers helped her pull the boy out of the freezing water. Andrei spent a few days in the hospital recovering. Naida was adopted by a family that lives 500 km away. The canine adoption was arranged before the near-drowning incident, and the new owners are particularly proud of Naida's heroism.
Treo the Bomb-sniffer Treo is a retired member of the British military, and a decorated war hero. The black Labrador was a member of the 104 Military Working Dog Support Unit and served in Afghanistan. There, the trained sniffer twice found hidden bombs in Helmand province in 2008. Treo was awarded the Dickin Medal, the highest military honor for an animal in Britain, in 2010. Sgt. Dave Heyhoe was Treo's handler in the military, and the two served together in Northern Ireland before being shipped to Afghanistan. When both completed their military service, Treo went home to live with Heyhoe, who said Treo's action saved the lives of many soldiers.
Max the Canine Shield Osmar Persisco of Garibaldi, Brazil, took his dog Max out for exercise in a field and was approached by two robbers who demanded his car keys. When Persisco declined, they shot him, grazing the man's head. That's when Max went into action, jumping up to attack the two men. One ran away immediately, the other shot Max twice in the chest and once in the leg before fleeing himself. Persisco rushed his protector to the vet, where Max was successfully treated for his injuries.
Bandit the Smoke Alarm The DeStefani family of Mays Landing, New Jersey, owe their lives to a small Pomeranian-poodle mix that wasn't even their dog! They were watching Bandit while her owner, Marta DeGennaro, was out of town. Rich DeStefani had put a hairbrush into boiling water to sterilize it, then forgot the pot on the stove when the family went to bed for the night. By 3:30AM, the water was gone and the burning plastic filled the house with toxic smoke. Newly-purchased smoke detectors did not go off. But Bandit jumped up on Jennifer DeStefani as she slept until she awoke and alerted her husband and 9-year-old daughter. One smoke detector finally sounded an alarm- after the fire department arrived! The fire was limited to the stove, but the home sustained serious smoke damage. And Bandit was hailed as a hero.
Target the War Hero Georgia National Guardsman Chris Duke credits three stray dogs he befriended in Afghanistan with saving his life -and the lives of his entire unit. The dogs, Sasha, Rufus, and Target, raised an alarm as a suicide bomber approached their barracks. The dogs attacked and bit the bomber, who blew himself up before gaining entrance. Sasha was so wounded she had to be put down. The other two recovered from their injuries. When Duke returned to the US, he told the story of the dogs left behind, which led to a fund-raising effort that successfully brought Rufus and Target to the United States. Rufus went to live with Chris Duke, and Target went to the home of Sgt. Terry Young, another survivor of the incident, in Arizona.
Buddy the GPS Dog Ben Heinrichs of Caswell Lakes, Alaska, suffered burns on his face and hand when a spark from a heater ignited gasoline in his car repair shop. Heinrichs ran out and rolled in the snow to extinguish the flames, then went back to make sure his dog Buddy escaped from the burning garage. He told the German shepherd to go get help, and Buddy took off. Heinrichs said the dog had no special training, but just knew what needed to be done. Emergency services received a call about the fire, but responding State Trooper Terrence Shanigan couldn't find the garage because his GPS system wasn't working properly. But he saw a frantic dog and followed him on a hunch.
Kiko the Biter You wouldn't think that the act of biting off a man's toe would be a lifesaving act, but that's exactly what happened to Jerry Douthett of Rockford, Michigan. Douthett had been nursing trouble with a toe for months, but hadn't sought medical attention. The toe became infected, and Douthett's wife insisted he have it checked. Douthett agreed, but decided to bolster his courage first with several beers and two giant margaritas. His wife took him home where he passed out in bed. That's when his terrier, Kiko, took matters into his own hands. Or mouth, as it were. Kiko chewed most of Douthett's infected toe off as he slept. When he awoke to find his toe gone, he could no longer put off a trip to the hospital. There, doctors found Douthett's blood sugar to be a dangerously high 560 -when it should be below 120. They also amputated what was left of his toe, since the infection went down to the bone. Douthett's undiagnosed diabetes probably caused him to not feel his toe being chewed off. He considered putting Kiko down for his actions, but after considering that the dog inadvertently saved his life, Douthett decided against euthanization. Meanwhile, Douthett is receiving treatment for diabetes, and has sworn off alcohol. But he now wears shoes to bed, just in case.
Hero the Fire Alarm Wendy Rankin of Brackenridge, Pennsylvania has a dog named Hero. After Hero was injured in a traffic accident, Rankin had to make a choice of whether to put her down. The family decided to do what they could to save their dog, which gave Hero an opportunity to live up to her name a few months later. In February, Hero started barking at 3AM, which is very unusual for her. The family woke to find their home on fire! Everyone escaped, but the home was destroyed. The Rankin family credits their survival to Hero.
Angel the Cougar Fighter Eleven year old Austin Forman of Boston Bar, British Columbia, was saved from a wild cougar by his golden retriever Angel. Austin noticed the dog acting differently on that day, sticking close to him as if she knew of some hidden danger -which was only apparent to humans after the attack. He was gathering firewood in his family's backyard when a cougar charged. Angel leapt into action, fighting the cougar while Austin ran into the house. Austin's mother Sherri Forman called 911 as the battle between cat and dog raged under the backyard deck. A constable in the neighborhood responded quickly and killed the cougar. Angel suffered some deep bites and scratches and was taken to the Sardis Animal Hospital. As she recovered, Austin bought her a big steak for her bravery.
Yogi the Valor Dog of the Year The Humane Society of the United States named Yogi, a golden retriever, the 2011 Valor Dog of the Year for saving his owner's life after a bicycle accident. Paul Horton of Austin, Texas, went over the handlebars on his mountain bike and landed on his head. When he regained consciousness, Yogi was by his side. Horton whispered for Yogi to get help. The dog, reluctant to leave, finally went to the main road and barked at neighbors who were walking by. Bruce and Maggie Tate know Yogi and had never seen him act so frantic, so they followed him back to the place where Horton lay immobile. Doctors found that Horton's vertebrae had pinched his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. They credit Yogi with saving Horton's life. Horton has since regained some sensation, and has limited use of his arms. And Yogi is still his best friend.
Teka vs. a Heart Attack Not too many people know what to do when someone has a heart attack, other than call 911. But Teka, an Australian Cattle Dog, skipped the phone call when her owner, Jim Touzeau, suffered a massive heart attack. Not only did she bark in his face to revive him and run outside barking to attract attention, she climbed on his chest and jumped up and down. When medics arrived, they couldn't say whether or not Teka's unusual version of CPR had any effect, but Touzeau feels indebted to her. And her efforts didnโt go unnoticed: Teka was given a Purple Cross medal for bravery by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Tater vs. a Bull Barry Woodson of Alburnett, Iowa raised his beloved pet from birth. But when Woodson took the 2,300-pound bull to the vet, the animal suddenly turned and attacked him. The veterinarians beat the bull without success. But then Woodson's other pet, Tater, stepped in. The 35 pound dog attacked the bull, 65 times her weight, and fended him off until Woodson could escape. Tater, whom her owner calls "a tough devil," is the new favorite.
RaeLee vs. a Seizure At first, Yolanda Segovia of Port Tampa, Florida, was hesitant to take in the lost dog her neighbor had found. She didn't want her two sons to get attached to the animal, only to be disappointed if his owner came to claim him. But a few days later, he was becoming part of the family; Yolanda's younger son dubbed him RaeLee, pronounced "Riley." And like any good family member, RaeLee protected his own. One night, he ran to Yolanda, barking wildly, and led her to the room where her older son, who suffers from Down syndrome, was having a seizure. Had it not been for the dog, he most likely would have died.
Kilo vs. Type 2 Diabetes Dogs who warn their owners of fires and save them from obvious danger are pretty remarkable, but a Michigan Jack Russell terrier named Kilo took things to a whole other level. The life of his owner, Jerry Douthett, was in danger, but Jerry didn't know it he had Type 2 Diabetes. One of Jerry's big toes was infected and getting worse; diabetes weakens the body's ability to fight infections. He put off seeing a doctor, afraid of what the diagnosis might be. After one night on the town, Jerry passed out at home. That's when Kilo took action - by biting off the infected toe. Jerry went to the hospital, and was diagnosed with diabetes. What's shocking is that Jerry seriously considered having Kilo euthanized, until he figured out what would have happened had the dog not been alerted by the unhealthy smell of his toe. "If it hadn't been for that dog, I could have ended up dead," he told the Grand Rapids Press.
Dog saves trainer from reckless car A guide dog in training was credited for saving two people from an out-of-control car in San Rafael, California. See dog save trainers from reckless car Danielle Alvarado and Todd Jurek, trainers at Guide Dogs for the Blind, were working with, O'Neil, a yellow lab, when a car started barreling down the sidewalk in reverse. The dramatic footage was caught on a local business' surveillance camera in June. O'Neil was able to alert Jurek just in time for Jurek to push the blindfolded Alvarado out of harm's way. "I think the dog looked before I did," Jurek told CNN affiliate KGO.
Dog saves 2 year old lost in the woods A 2 year old boy in South Carolina was missing for more than four hours last November, sending his family into a panic. But the family's devoted dog stayed by his side through the entire ordeal and eventually led him to safety. Peyton Myrick had wandered into the woods outside Clover while his grandfather worked on a nearby tractor. Peyton's father, Rich, was at a pediatrician's office with his other son when he heard the news. He raced home, and the doctor and staff came, too. Law enforcement officials and neighbors soon joined the search in the open countryside. It was long past dark when neighbors eventually noticed Ashepoo, the family's Australian shepherd, near a barn. Nearby was Peyton, sleeping on his jacket unhurt and unfazed. "It's relief like I've never felt. If a dog can be a hero, that dog's a hero," Rich Myrick told CNN affiliate WSOC.
Dog alerts family to newborn's distress The Brousseau family knew something was wrong when their dog, Duke, jumped on their bed in the middle of the night, shaking uncontrollably.Dog alerts family to newborn's distress "He is insanely obedient, so this was extremely bizarre," Jenna Brousseau told CNN affiliate WFSB in Connecticut. Brousseau and her husband got out of bed and went in to check in on their 9-week-old daughter, Harper. Harper was not breathing in her bassinet. The family called 911, and paramedics were able to revive Harper and take her to the hospital, where she later recovered. Brousseau said Duke is a lifesaver. "If Duke hadn't been so scared, we would have just gone to sleep," she said.
Golden retriever helps rescue brother Dogs aren't only saving people. They're also saving other dogs. Retriever helps rescue its brother Penny Blackwell's two golden retrievers, Baxter and Bailey, were leashed together when they ran away last year in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Blackwell put up flyers and begged for help on Facebook, but she felt hopeless after two weeks with no news. Then a friend sent her a text message saying, "I think I have one of your dogs." It was Baxter. Baxter's next job: tracking down his brother. He led Blackwell through the woods and down a path, where Bailey was stuck with his leash wrapped around some bushes."I could hardly get him untied," Blackwell told CNN affiliate WBZ. "He was jumping all over me and jumping over Baxter, so happy to see us." Blackwell thinks the two dogs were trapped together before Baxter broke free. "Baxter's a hero for taking me there," she said.
This tiny terrier was one of the first ever search and rescue dogs used in Great Britain during the Second World War. His origins are unknown - he was found during the Blitz in Poplar, London by an air raid warden named E. King. Eventually the two built up a friendship after the warden fed the dog some scraps and Rip went on to become the mascot of the local air raid patrol. This all seems fairly straight forward, until the dog started to dig in rubble for people trapped beneath despite having never been trained in this task. In twelve months from 1940 onwards, the dog managed to rescue more than a hundred people buried in rubble following air raids. At the time, there were no search and rescue dogs used for this task and indeed the success of Rip led to the British authorities implementing them towards the end of the war. He was awarded the Dickin Medal for the number of lives he saved during the Blitz. Rip died in 1946, and was buried in the PDSA Cemetery in Ilford, Essex. He was the first of several Dickin Medal winners to be buried there, a tradition which continues to this day. Rip's legacy is that not only did he directly save lives himself, but also began a trend which must have gone on to save thousands across Great Britain during the Second World War and beyond.
Theo, Treo & Sadie Afghanistan is not a hospitable place for a British Army dog. It is a dry, arid country. For a dog who needs moisture to help it smell, these conditions can be extremely difficult. Not only does the dust kick up, requiring a dog to wear goggles to protect their eyes, but the sun beats down incessantly, burning their skin. Plus the locals aren't exactly friendly to a dog, especially if the dog happens to be black, and enemy snipers are actively looking for you. All three of these dogs have been awarded the Dickin Medal for their work as explosive detection dogs during the War in Afghanistan. Theo is better known than the other two after his death in Afghanistan at the age of one following the death of his handler, Liam Tasker. The pair had set new records over the course of the previous five months for explosive finds. Tasker was killed by a sniper, and Theo died from a seizure upon returning to base - something that the press said was a broken heart. Until Theo was posthumously awarded the Medal, Treo was the most recent recipient. He and Dave Heyhoe were deployed in Afghanistan during 2008, and found during two daisy chain bombs, preventing them from killing any British soldiers. Treo and Heyhoe had a couple of near misses with bombs, on one instance there was a device that failed to detonate correctly and another time it was simply unexplained how they managed to survive. But Theo and Heyhoe significantly reduced the loss of lives for the companies that they were assigned to in Helmand province. Sadie was the first explosives detection dog to be awarded the Dickin Medal during work in Afghanistan, and unlike Treo and Theo, she was awarded it for a single find. With her handler Karen Yardly, the two were posted in Kabul to search the outside of the United Nations building. The dog somehow managed to pick up the scent of explosives which were housed first in a pressure cooker, then covered with sandbags and this all through a two foot thick concrete wall. Incredible.
Gander The first non-British Dickin Medal awardee on this list, Gander was a rather large black Newfoundland dog given to the Royal Rifles of Canada, where he was given the rank of Sergeant. He was so big and fluffy that the Canadian soldiers had to convince the captain of the ship taking them across to Hong Kong that Gander wasn't a bear. There he found fame following his actions during the Battle of Hong Kong during December 1941. During the course of the battle, Gander was on the beach where the Japanese landed. He charged down soldiers, biting at them. He went on to save many lives during course of the battle including chasing Japanese soldiers away from injured allied troops, but he gained the most fame for incident that resulted in his death. He was amongst a group of Canadian soldiers in cover when a Japanese grenade landed near them. As the soldiers looked on in horror at the live grenade, the dog took it up in his mouth and ran away from them, completely going against all training. It exploded, resulting in Gander's death. His story was almost lost, but some 59 years after the Battle, Gander was awarded the first Dickin Medal for half a century. His name also appears on the Hong Kong Veterans Memorial Wall in Ottawa, Canada. There are currently plans underway to construct a war memorial in his form in his birthplace of Belledune, New Brunswick.
Salty and Roselle are unique on this list in that they were awarded the Dickin Medal, something which normally goes to dogs in military service, but they were in fact guide dogs, albeit guide dogs in a very unique situation. You see, these two dogs were with their blind owners in the World Trade Center on 9/11 during the attack. Both the dogs managed to ignore the panic that must have gone on during that awful day, the smells of burning airplane fuel, the heat and everything else and got their owners out. Salty was with her owner, Omar Rivera, on the 71st floor of Tower 1. Even when someone else took her lead, Salty refused to leave Rivera's side. Roselle was seven floors further up in the same tower when the attack hit with her owner, Michael Hingson. Their descent took more than an hour, and as they exited the building, Tower 2 collapsed showering them with debris. After reaching a nearby subway station, Hingson and Roselle helped a woman who had been blinded in the attack. The two dogs shared a Dickin Medal, only the second time this has happened and the only time it was given to an animal in a non-military role. In addition, Roselle was named American Hero Dog of the Year in 2011 posthumously after she died of a stomach ulcer earlier that year.
Khan was a German Shepherd (then known as an Alsatian to avoid making the breed sound too German) who was trained as an explosives detection dog. During the Second World War, he was assigned to the 6th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), where he served alongside his handler Jimmy Muldoon. During the build up to the assault on Antwerp after D-Day, a Division of German troops had to be driven from Walcheren Island. Khan had already landed in Normandy with his handler and seen action, acting calm and collected under fire. The duo were crossing a channel in a landing boat to assault an enemy position whilst under machine gun and artillery fire. The boat they were in was hit directly and split in two from an explosion. Khan quickly swam ashore and started to look for Muldoon. It was only then that the dog heard his handler's cries from the water, Muldoon couldn't swim. Whilst under this continued fire, Khan re-entered the water and swam to Muldoon. There the dog bit into the soldier's uniform and dragged him to shore. Many soldiers lost their lives that night, but both Khan and Muldoon survived. After the war, Khan was returned to his family. But after Muldoon and Khan were reunited at the National Dog Tournament, the family decided to give the dog permanently into his care.
Judy was born in 1936 and purchased in Shanghai as the mascot for HMS Gnat, a British river gunboat based on the Yangtze. After the crew transferred to HMS Grasshopper in 1939, the Second World War broke out and the ship was withdrawn from China and sent to Singapore. There the vessel remained for a couple of years until the Battle of Singapore in 1942. Grasshopper was evacuated and was sunk near Sinkep Island. As the crew evacuated to the nearby island, Judy was not among them. She was found alive when a crewman went back to Grasshopper for supplies, and upon returning to the island she managed to discover the only source of fresh water, saving all of the surviving crew. They took control of a passing vessel and headed to Sumatra. Once there, they trekked 200 miles across the jungle but several miles short of the British lines, they were captured by the Japanese. Judy was smuggled by the crew into a prisoner of war camp, where she met Frank Williams, who would look after her for the rest of her life. He shared his rice ration with the dog each day and arranged to have her registered as a prisoner of war in order to prevent the guards from killing her. She was the only dog registered as a prisoner of war during the Second World War. At the camp, she would warn the prisoners of the arrival of guards and if there were wild animals nearby. The men in the camp were sent to another camp, this time back in Singapore. Williams trained Judy to stay still in a sack, which he held for three hours over his shoulder on the upper deck of the cargo ship they were transferred on. The ship was torpedoed, and Williams and Judy were separated. He was sent to another camp where he began to hear stories about a dog saving people during the sinking of the vessel. She arrived later in the same camp, and after the end of the war, was smuggled back to Liverpool on a troopship.
Police dog Kenzo Saves handler's life Sometimes we take for granted the heroic actions of our Law Enforcement and Military; much more so the heroic actions of the working dogs that put their own lives on the line everyday. Just last week, a nine year old German Shepherd, Kenzo, took two bullets in the chest, saving the life of his handler and the lives of the other deputies at the scene.
George The majority of the dogs who win the PDSA Gold Medal did so because they were a Police dog who showed bravery in the line of duty, or were service dogs who saved their owners. George was not one of these, he was a just an ordinary Jack Russell Terrier. On 29 April 2007, he was with a group of five children who were walking back home. The group were attacked by two Pit Bulls, a breed not banned in George's native New Zealand. George set about defending the children from the attack by the other dogs. He barked and ran at the dogs to drive them away from the children. But the Pit Bulls attacked him, biting him on the head and back. His injuries from the two other dogs were so severe that he was put down by his owner following the attack, and the Pit Bulls were also euthanized after they were surrendered by their owner to animal control officers. George had a massive impact on his local community. A statue was erected in his honour in his home town of Manaia, Taranaki, and his owner Allan Gay was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal on George's behalf by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand. Although he might have only been small, the children that he saved will never forget what he did on that day.
Geo a real-life hero We know dogs save lives, but we usually think of service dogs or assistance dogs. But just this month, a seven month old puppy a family dog saved the life of a young boy by pushing him out of the way of an incoming truck. What a story! Geo, a shepherd Collie mix, is a true hero. On Thursday he went out on a walk with his owner Carly and her sons Charlie, Josh, and Ben. They stopped at a corner of a street and waited until they could cross, but just then a driver sped out of the road and over the curb towards Charlie. Just before the driver could hit Charlie, Geo jumped in and pushed him out of the way and saved his life but Geo didn't escape in time. He was hit by the truck and was sent rolling into the street, and there he was hit again. After a $16,000 vet bill, Geo survived a broken spine, broken leg, as well as internal injuries and many post-op infections and complications. But the veterinarians attending him say that Geo will make a full recovery.
Sweet Greyhounds Two months ago, Erin Cramer adopted "Clobberhead" from the Greyhound Pets of America, saying that her and her daughter just knew he was the right dog for them. Just recently, Clobber, as they call him, started behaving very strangely. He went to the door and pressed his nose against it so hard that he could hardly breathe. Erin put his leash on and took him outside. But he immediately wanted to go back in, pulling Erin strongly behind him. Once inside, he ran up the stairs to the door of the laundry room. Erin opened the door and the smell of gas came pouring out. It turned out that her water heater was leaking gas, plus it was sparking. If Clobber hadn't alerted her in time, the spark would have ignited the gas and not only would Erin's house have exploded, but also the houses around hers. Erin credits Clobber with saving her life and suggests that people always pay attention to their dog's behavior.
One for the Pit Bulls Christie checked and found that Payton was barely breathing, and rushed him to the emergency room, where they found his blood sugar was dangerously low. A local veterinarian said the dog may have smelled the ketones that would have most likely been being produced by Payton's low blood sugar. Whatever Tator Tot's clue was, Christie credits him with saving her son's life.
My Girl Dolly This rescue happened years ago. My Scottish Terrier, Dolly, hardly ever barked, and when she did, it was a very deep, bass sounding bark that didn't match her "girly-ness". One morning, my mom had let her and my cat, Smokey Joe, outside to do their duty. Suddenly, Dolly was jumping on the metal screen door, which made a metallic clang, and barking her throaty bark. It would stop for a few seconds and then it would happen again. The third time it happened, my mom stopped what she was doing and went to see what was going on. Dolly was running back and forth from the street to the door and back again, trying to get someone to come out and see that Smokey had been run over by a car and couldn't move. We rushed Smokey to the vet, with my mom thinking he would have to be put to sleep. His pelvis was crushed, but the vet wanted to try to save him. He kept Smokey for 2 months, and finally returned him to us, still sore and dragging his back legs for a while, but he eventually got back to normal. Smokey would have bleed to death internally if not for Dolly doing all that she could to help her best friend out in his time of need.
The dog who saved a baby from crawling into the ocean. When an unattended infant started crawling towards the ocean, this hero dashed to the rescue and laid down between the ocean and the child to prevent the baby from crawling in. WATCH VIDEO HERE
Tango Born one month before 9/11, Tango, now ten and a half, has been helping teach fire safety to children and adults in the hopes of helping save lives, reduce injuries and fire losses. A spokes dog for the Keep Kids Fire Safe Foundation and fire service dog for Johnson County RFD #1 in Clarksville, Arkansas, Tango was given to Firefighter Dayna Hilton in 2008 to help with fire safety programming, after her dog, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog, was unable to travel. Tango and Sparkles spent thousands of hours together, helping teach fire safety across the country, until Sparkles crossed the Rainbow Bridge in October 2010.
Amanda, who saved her puppies from a house fire No one proved a mother's love for her babies more than Amanda, a German Shepherd mix, who heroically saved her 10 day old puppies from a house fire in Santa Rosa de Temuco, Chile. Caught in the fire and sensing a danger to her babies, Amanda picked up the pups in her mouth and carried them one by one from the burning house, gently placing them safely on the steps of a fire-truck. She ran between the house and the truck over and over again until all her babies were safe.After rescuing all of her pups from the blaze, Amanda sat down next to them, protecting them with her body as the firefighters continued to fight the blaze.Amanda and her puppies were all taken to a vet where one puppy named Amparo, who had suffered severe burns, died. The other four puppies survived.
The 2011 Hero dog therapy winner Stacey Mae passed away suddenly on Oct 6th/12 at the very young age of 5 1/2. Stacey lived a short life but one that was full of happiness and helping others.The Greater Swiss Mountain dog from Canon City Colorado, was well known for The Teddy Bear Project, in which she delivered more than 2,500 teddy bears to nursing homes and children's hospitals. Stacey Mae liked to spend time with people and would visit nursing homes 2-3 days a week. She would give unconditional love to those in their last days of life. She loved being loved on or sometimes, she would just lay beside someone to comfort them as they neared their last breath. Stacey Mae was a true angel from heaven and though she was only with us for a short time, she made a positive impact on all those around her.
Hero dog Gabe Adopted by the military from a pound in Houston, Tx. Specialized Search Dog Gabe, a yellow Lab, was winner of the Military war dog category and went on to be named the 2012 American Hero dog. In 2006, Gabe was deployed to Iraq to find hidden guns and explosives and to help keep soldiers safe. He completed over 210 combat missions with 26 finds of explosives and weapons and also spent time visiting wounded troops and children.Gabe retired in 2009 after a very distinguished career earning over 40 awards and coins of excellence for his work. Gabe and his dad, SFC Chuck Shuck, continue to help raise awareness for shelter pets and educate children about respect and the importance of staying in school.It is with a broken heart and great sadness that I inform you that SSD Gabe was put to sleep yesterday Feb.13th/13 at 12:44 pm while his dad Chuck Shuck held him in his arms."Rest in peace sweet, beautiful Gabe, a hero and friend to to all"
Grecy Accompanying the Navy Seals who completed the bin Laden mission was a faithful four-legged soldier. Little is known about what may be the nation's most courageous dog. The identity of the military superdog will remain a secret. The trained dog, either a German Shepherd or a Belgian Malinois, was attached to a human Seal and lowered from a helicopter into the compound. Wearing canine armor, he went along to sniff out hidden explosives or, if necessary, find a secret room of bin Laden's.
Loukanikos or Sausage, the riot dog, continues protesting in Greece. Allegedly present at nearly every major Greek riot since 2008. He is followed by photographers, earned fame on you tube videos and has a facebook page called "riot dog." In recent photos he is seen showing solidarity with hooded protestors.
Snickers is a 4-year-old, male, Border Collie/Pointer cross, that owner Gregory Gould brought home in February of 2012. Greg adopted the dog from a previous owner, but he had no idea at the time that, in turn, Snickers would save Greg's life. In the early morning hours of March 19, 2012, Constable Rob Garnett and his partner were called to investigate a local complaint regarding a dog pacing in a resident's driveway, barking incessantly, and blocking their repeated attempts to leave for work. Upon arriving at the scene, he and his partner encountered Snickers, who was obviously agitated. A dog lover himself, Constable Garnett immediately recognized this as unusual behaviour and questioned the resident who had placed the call. New to the neighborhood they hadn't met everyone just yet, however, thanks in large part to a tip provided by their daughter, it was concluded that the dog lived next door. Constable Garnett went to knock on the door, and Snickers followed closely. After banging on the door several times with no response, he peered through a window and saw Gregory Gould unconscious on his living-room floor. Mr. Gould suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and depends on an assisted breathing machine. The levels on his machine weren't on the correct setting, which had knocked him unconscious. As he lay there, he was slowly suffocating. The constable and his partner immediately sprang into action, breaking through the front door, assessing the situation, and calling paramedics. Snickers sat by Mr. Gould's side as they waited for medical help to arrive. At this point, Constable Garnett started looking around the house, and uncovered Snickers' escape route: the glass in the back screen door was shattered and the latch had been triggered. Based on his observations, he concluded that Snickers, in a determined effort to get help for his owner, had thrown his body repeatedly against the screen door until he was able to escape to the backyard. Once outside, Snickers then ran to the back corner of the yard where some weaker, cross hatched fencing had been put up. He had broken through that as well. All of this happened at approximately 3 a.m., which means that Snickers had sought help for upwards of two hours. He was drawn to the neighbors home when their lights went on around 5 a.m. Thanks to Snickers' keen intuition, persistence, physical strength and determination, Mr. Gould received the medical attention he needed in the nick of time. Doctors said that if he had remained on his living room floor for one hour longer, he would not have survived.
America's first war dog, Stubby served for 18 months and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front. In February of 1918 he saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks. This pit bull terrier dog was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. He also located and comforted wounded, carried messages under fire and even once caught a German spy by the seat of his pants after hearing a noise coming from a small patch of brush. He went to investigate and found a German spy. Stubby put his ears back and began to bark. The German began to run and Stubby took off after him, biting the soldier on his legs causing him to trip and fall. Then he attacked the soldier's arms and finally bit and held onto his rear end. By this time some of the Allied soldiers had come to see what all the noise was. When they saw that the dog had captured a spy they cheered. He became the first dog to be given rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. After the war, Stubby became Georgetown University's mascot when his owner, Robert Conroy was headed to law school and took the dog along. Old age finally caught up with the small warrior on April 4th, 1926, as he took ill and died in Conroy's arms.
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