Dog 911

As always, I’ve been paying attention to animals that make the news. This week, one of the news stories that got around was about a German shepherd named Buddy who dialed 911 and saved his owner’s life.

Apparently the owner had health issues to start with as a result of an old military injury, and had 911 programmed into the phone. The dog had been trained to push the right button. But that still takes some intelligence. Plus, the pup whined, and the 911 operator apparently got the message!

Therefore, there was a happy ending.

The owner was prone to have seizures, and the 911 folks had his phone number flagged in their system as being one where a service dog was around. The dispatcher may not have been aware of this, since news articles quote the tape as having her say, “Is there somebody there you can give the phone to?” Buddy didn’t have anyone to pass the phone to, but he reputedly barked as the EMTs got to the door.

Buddy apparently rode with his owner to the hospital, and they were happily back home 2 days later.

I’ve been pondering whether I can work something similar into an upcoming Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery. Maybe a dog could press Kendra’s number into a phone and call for legal help when his owner’s arrested...? Well, maybe I’ll ponder a little more.

In any event, let’s hear it for hero dogs!

--Linda