Heroic Dog Stories from Around the World
Dogs the world over have shown their love and devotion to their human friends. Here are stories from around the world that will amaze you with the heroic spirit found in our canine companions.
• Sangeeta, a young mother of three boys, looks down on her eldest son, Dinakaran, and the dog that saved his life, Selvakumar. Selvakumar looks like every other dog in the village. He hardly ever barks and lets the three young boys in his family climb all over him and pull his tail without protest. At night, he joins the rest of the family and sleeps among them, no matter how many times they throw him out. Most days, the dog escorts Dinakaran, the oldest, to and from school, spending the rest of the day playing with the other two boys, or begging for food. Sangeeta's brother-in-law gave her the puppy following the birth of her second son. When the brother-in-law died in an accident two years ago they changed the dog's name to his. Sangeeta's family had always lived along the coast, just north of Pondicherry, a former French colony.
The morning of December 26 began like most others, with sunny skies and a cool breeze. Sangeeta's husband, R Ramakrishnan, had just returned from his early morning fishing with a boat full of fish. From their home, the view of the ocean was obstructed, by a two-story community centre. So when they heard a strange noise, coming from the sea, Sangeeta's husband went to investigate. The panic began as her husband screamed, "Run away!" from a rooftop after he spotted the colossal waves, of the tsunami. This was when the young mother, was forced to make an agonizing choice. Sangeeta quickly grabbed her two youngest sons and hoped that the third and oldest (7-year-old Dinakaran) would outrun the tsunami churning toward her home. She believed because he was older he would be able to outrun the oncoming waves. However, she watched horrified as Dinakaran didn't follow. The young boy panicked, and headed for the safest place he knew, the small family hut just 40 yards from the seashore. Sangeeta thought she would never see him again; however, he was saved by the family dog. While water lapped at Sangeeta's heels as she rushed up a hill, the scruffy dog named Selvakumar ducked into the hut after Dinakaran. The dog did everything in his canine power to get the boy up the hill by nipping and nudging him. Sangeeta, who like many south Indians only uses one name, had no idea of the drama that was unfolding below. Once she had crossed the main road to safety, she collapsed into tears, screaming over the loss of her eldest son. She recounts, "I had heard from others that the wall of my house had collapsed, I felt sure that my child had died," said the 24-year-old mother.
Dinakaran quickly credits the dog with saving his life. "That dog grabbed me by the collar of my shirt," the boy said. "He dragged me out."
• Bill Marshall, a native of London, England credits his German Shepherd, Crabby, for leading him and his family out of their burning home. The dog awoke the sleeping family with her incessant barking, and then carefully guided each family member out of the smoke-filled house. When Bill was outside, he tried to grab onto Crabby, to keep her from re-entering the home, unaware that one of his children was still inside. The dog broke away and led Christi Marshall, a seven-year-old girl, out of the family home, and into the waiting arms of her parents. While the home was a total loss, the Marshall's credit Crabby with saving their lives.
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