Rescued German Shepherd Helps Save Owner’s Life During Stroke
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Dogs are amazing creatures who not only keep us company and entertain us, but they’re also capable of saving our lives. A man in New Jersey was fortunate that his dog Sadie was around when he suffered a stroke. This heartwarming story was shared by WABC of New Jersey. It tells bout how the 6-year old German Shepherd stayed with her owner after he collapsed with a stroke. The heroic dog dragged her owner to a spot that was within reach of his cell phone so he could call for emergency services. She also licked his face to keep him awake until help arrived. Brian is the fortunate owner who is recovering and anxiously awaiting the time when he can see her again. Sadie is staying with Brian’s family members until he is well enough to bring her home. He had adopted her just a few months before the incident occurred. She is a highly intelligent dog and she and Brian formed an instant bond. He rescued her from a shelter and she rescued him from death. It’s a bond that will continue for life.
Other stories of incredible life-saving pets
Sadie and Brian’s story is not unique. There are countless instances of pets saving the lives of humans. According to Cheatsheet, A golden retriever named Chelsea spent 20 hours by the side of her owner Bob, who fell in the snow and lay injured with his neck broken. The dog wouldn’t leave his side and continued barking until a neighbor came and called for help. A cat detected carbon monoxide emissions in a home and incessantly pounded on her pet parent’s bedroom door until she woke them up. A dog named Sako was with his owner when he crashed his car. He stayed by his injured owner, fought coyotes to protect his pet parent, and even helped to drag him to a creek to get water until help arrived. These are just a few of the hundreds of true stories about animals saving human lives that have been recorded.
Animals can detect illness in humans
Understanding Animal Research has conducted numerous studies to investigate the unique ability that dogs have to detect certain illnesses or health conditions in humans. How do they know when a person is sick or is going to have health problems? Some of it is in their sense of smell. Dogs have the ability to detect subtle scents that is beyond the scope of what people can detect. They are intelligent enough to process the information and warn their owners that there is a problem. They are the perfect problem sniffers. Research has shown that the olfactory nerve cells are exponentially higher than those found in humans and this is what gives them the advantage of a keen sense of smell. Humans can rely on dogs to detect a variety of diseases and some are currently being trained to screen for Covid-19.
How keen is a dog’s sense of smell?
Humans have 5 million olfactory nerve receptors for detecting scents. Dogs are blessed with around 220 million, and this is what makes them able to smell 10 thousand times better than the average person. They can detect even faint scents. When a human has a health problem going on, minuscule compounds form as a result of the illness or health problem, and it’s just enough of a scent for dogs to take note of. When a dog is loyal to its owner he is likely to give some indication of the information that he detects and it’s up to us to figure out the reason for his concern. There have been hundreds if not more, of instances where dogs have jumped in to save their owners from a health emergency. Your dog can let you know that it’s time for you to go in and have medical testing and he might be the one who gets help if you have a medical crisis.
What kinds of issues can dogs detect?
We’re still learning more about what a dog is capable of detecting. Studies are likely to go on for decades before we know the full extent of their abilities. Currently, the research shows that dogs can be trained to screen for certain diseases with a high degree of accuracy. So far, we know that they are good at sniffing out Covid-19, certain cancers by sniffing breath samples, Parkinson’s disease, epileptic seizures, narcolepsy, malaria, and other disorders.
Emotional empathy
Dogs can also sense when their owners and others are sad, lonely, or depressed. They are good at picking up on our cues and our dogs are there to offer comfort and companionship to help us get through lonely or sad times in our lives. They offer unconditional love and deserve the same in return.
Final thoughts
Shelters are filled to overflowing with dogs and cats that require a home. Many perfectly healthy pets are euthanized daily because there are not enough people willing to give them a chance to show how much they have to contribute to our well-being. If you have room in your heart and home for a shelter pet, you will not only be saving a life, you also invite a new family member into your home that will give back far more than they receive. We’ve just reviewed a few examples of dogs and cats that have literally saved the lives of their owners. These protective and caring pets have gone to great lengths to make sure that their beloved owners get the help that they receive when the stakes are high. This is just one of the reasons why owning a pet is a good decision. If you have the means to save a life from a pet shelter, you may be saving your own.
