Heroic Dog Stories

The heroic actions of dogs didn't end with the real-life Balto or TV's Lassie. Today, dogs everywhere are responding heroically when the situation is urgent or turns deadly. Here are some everyday dogs, who acted heroically when their owners most needed them to.

• Bobbie Glover of Auburn, California tells the story of the day she was walking her five-year old Lab, Boomer, on a street near her home. She stumbled into a pothole and broke both her legs in the fall. While Bonnie screamed for help, Boomer lay right down on the road and stayed there. After no one came to help, Bonnie wrapped her arms around Boomer's neck and simply said, "Home". The 160-pound Lab dragged Bonnie all the home, where her husband found her and called for medical help. Bonnie ends her story by saying that she had rescued Boomer from a shelter, never dreaming that one day he would end up rescuing her.
• Linda Clevenger of Bremen, Indiana recounts how her miniature dachshund, Maggie May Longfellow, saved her entire family. The dog typically slept with their 12-year old daughter, Katrina, in a top bunk with her sister Kelli, sleeping in the bottom bunk. On February 2, 2005, at 2:30 a.m., Linda states that she and her husband, James, were awakened by Maggie barking near our bed. While they were understandably startled, they immediately smelled gas. Linda frantically rushed to the kitchen where she found a burner left on, spewing out natural gas. She quickly threw open the windows, remembering not to turn on lights. Kelli, it turns out, had lifted Maggie May out of the bed. The dog then pawed and scratched until she opened our door. Thanks to her, there was no headline in the paper saying "House Explodes, Killing Family of 7".
• In 2004, a 7-year-old Golden Retriever named Brutis received the National Dog Hero Award. He received this award when he 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 heroic actions did not go unnoticed as Brutis was promptly flown to Los Angeles to receive his award.
• The Genesis Awards honored a Black Labrador, aptly named Katrina, who, during the misery of Hurricane Katrina, saved a drowning man before the rising flood waters claimed his life. When receiving the honor Katrina, the dog, was given a well-deserved standing ovation.
• Fox News reported the heroic tale of a half wolf/half German Shepherd named Shana, who saved an elderly couple from a treacherous snow storm. When Shana found Norman and Eve trapped by snow, she reacted quickly and went to work, diligently digging out a tunnel through which she would pull the couple back to the safety of their home.
• 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. When he was faced with the angry pooch, the gunman shot him, and ran off without harming any of the Patels. Luckily, Moti has made a full recovery!
• Maya, the 2008 Dog of the Year, took home the 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, which was happy to report that "the pit-bull breed can be hero dogs just like any other breed."

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