Category: Heroes

Hero German Shepherd Shot 3 Times Protecting Boy During Home Invasion (He’s OK!)

Early Wednesday afternoon, Javier Mercado, 16, was upstairs with with his 2-year-old German Shepherd, Rex, in their Des Moines, Wash., home when they both heard the glass shatter in a sliding door.

Rex immediately bolted downstairs and started barking. “I heard one guy scream, ‘The dog bit me, get the dog,'” Mercado told KING 5 News.

Mercado grabbed his cell phone, hid in a bedroom closet and called 911. He could hear the intruders beating Rex, then he heard Rex just outside the closet door. The intruders came upstairs and ransacked the bedrooms.

When they entered Mercado’s bedroom, Rex used what little strength he had left to bark at them. Then Mercado heard the unthinkable.

“I heard one gunshot and several after that,” he told KING 5 News. “And my dog just cried after every shot that hit him.”

Just like any of us would want to do, Mercado wanted to rush out and help his dog, but the 911 dispatcher told him to stay put. “I thought he was dead for sure. I broke down,” Mercado said.

While Mercado remained inside the closet, police and SWAT officers arrived, but the criminals ran off when they heard the sirens. The officers rushed Rex to BluePearl Renton Veterinary Partners, a local animal hospital.

Then Mercado got a phone call he’ll probably never forget. It was the animal hospital, letting him know Rex had survived the three gunshots to his neck and hind legs.

This hero dog wasn’t out of the woods yet. Yesterday he had surgery to repair a fractured bone his left hind leg by inserting a surgical pin and screw.

These surgeries can be very expensive. To help cover the costs, Mercado’s aunt, Susy Cadena, launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $57,000.

“We have exceeded the goal and we just wanted to assure you that all the money will go toward Rex’s medical expenses and his recovery,” Cadena noted in an update. “Anything left will be donated to institutions and organizations whose mission is to protect our loved pets.”

As of yesterday, Rex is in stable condition. He’s recovering in the intensive care unit, “receiving pain medication, antibiotics, wound care and round-the-clock monitoring,” according to the BluePearl Veterinary Partners Facebook page.

For updates on Rex’s progress, you can follow the Rex the Hero Dog Facebook page.

“I feel like if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today telling you this story,” Mercado told KING 5 News.

Photo via Rex the Hero Dog Facebook page

Daytona Beach Police Officers Rescue and Adopt Freezing Pit Bull Puppy

It’s not often that you see the word “freezing” in regard to Daytona Beach, Fla., but the temperature plummeted to only 28 degrees there overnight on Jan. 19. That morning, the Daytona Beach Police Department got a call about a Pit Bull puppy who some heartless loser had abandoned by the side of a road.

The DBPD’s animal control officers James Lee and John Pearson found the shivering puppy under a bridge by the Halifax River. They brought the poor little pup into their patrol car and wrapped her up in a blanket. Officer Pearson held the puppy to his chest to help warm her.

The officers drove the puppy to the Halifax Humane Society (HHS), where she was treated by a veterinarian. According to the HHS Facebook page, the puppy’s condition was touch-and-go for a while. Officers Lee and Pearson made regular visits to the shelter to check on the puppy whose life they saved.

“This beautiful, spunky puppy was nursed back to health at Halifax Humane Society,” the DBPD wrote on its Facebook page Feb. 5.

The puppy, who rescuers named River, wasn’t microchipped. Unsurprisingly, no one ever showed up to claim her.

The good news is that River is now in a loving forever home and will never have to worry about being abandoned again. Just over two weeks after her life was saved by Officers Lee and Pearson, River has been adopted by another member of the Daytona Beach Police Department: Officer Kera Cantrell.

It was “love at first sight,” according to the DBPD. Sweet!

Photo credit: Daytona Beach Police Department/Facebook

Beagle Who Fell Into Ice-Covered Pond Dies Saving Life of Owner

Usually when Sarah Bailey of Madison, Ala., took her Beagle, Olly, out to go potty at night, Olly would wait on the porch while Bailey grabbed her coat.

But Wednesday night, Olly walked off — and fell through the ice covering a pond in the apartment complex where they live.

“He was desperately trying to get out,” Bailey told WHNT. “The whole fight or flight kicked in.”

Olly was an abused rescue dog who’d required lots of training to overcome his fear of people. Bailey wasn’t about to let him die. She tried to grab his leash and pull him out of the freezing-cold water, but fell through the ice as well.

When Bailey’s 10-year-old daughter heard her cries to get help, she tried to help them herself — and also ended up in the water. She was able to climb out to safety.

Neighbors and Madison Fire & Rescue quickly showed up to save Bailey and Olly. Meanwhile, during what felt like an eternity to Bailey, Olly was saving her from drowning. “He put himself under the ice that was breaking underneath me and it kept it floating,” she told WHNT.

Tragically, her hero dog did not survive. “I was the only person he truly trusted because of the way he was abused and I feel like he was just saying thank you,” Bailey told WHNT.

After rescuing Bailey, Madison Fire & Rescue warned pet owners to keep their dogs away from ice-covered water. If your dog falls through the ice, don’t try to rescue your pet, they advised; it can take less than 15 minutes for exhaustion and unconsciousness to occur. Instead, you should call 911 and wait for help.

This is important advice, but for most pet owners, it’s easier said than done. As Bailey tearfully told WHNT, “I couldn’t watch him die.”

Watch Hero Officers Rescue a Bloodhound Trapped under a Car on Busy Freeway

During rush hour Wednesday morning, Placer County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stan Semenuk was driving westbound on the busy I-80 in Northern California when he spotted a young Bloodhound darting across the interstate. The Bloodhound, named Ruger, somehow made it safely across all three eastbound lanes and then leaped over the center divider.

“Everybody came to a screeching halt trying to avoid hitting the dog,” Semenuk said in a video posted on the Placer County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. “So I immediately pull over — as a K9 handler, I have a little bit of a thing for dogs — and I tried to call him over to me. I just tried to get him out of the road so he didn’t get hit.”

Semenuk could tell Ruger was terrified by the Bloodhound’s body language. “He looks at me, kind of looks all around, probably trying to find his owner or something that looks familiar to him — and then he jets out back into westbound lanes of traffic,” he said.

Unfortunately, Ruger was struck by a car. He survived, but one of his paws was pinned under a rear tire, trapping the dog.

Semenuk repositioned his patrol car and turned on the flashing lights to keep other cars away the accident scene. An off-duty California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer who saw what happened also pulled over, and the two men immediately went to work to free Ruger. As the CHP officer raised the tire using a jack from his truck. Semenuk prepared to use a leash as a makeshift collar to pull the frightened dog out from under the car.

The deputy put on heavy gloves just in case Ruger bit him, but they were unnecessary. “He was actually very, very calm,” Semenuk said. “Once I got there, I started talking to him, trying to calm the dog down. He was in a lot of pain. He was crying, he was whimpering.”

Ruger let Semenuk lift him up and carry him to the side of the freeway. “He was a super good boy,” the deputy said.

The CHP officer went on his way and Semenuk comforted Ruger until officers from Placer County Animal Services arrived — along with Ruger’s owners, according to the Sacramento Bee. It’s not known how Ruger ended up running loose on an interstate.

Ruger was transported to a local veterinary clinic for emergency treatment. What’s really amazing is that despite what he went through, the Bloodhound had no broken bones — only lacerations and road rash. He’s expected to make a full recovery.

His rescue was captured on Semenuk’s patrol car dashboard camera. As the sheriff’s office warns, it’s disturbing to watch, but worth it, since it has a happy ending.

Thank you, Deputy Semenuk and the CHP officer for saving Ruger’s life.

Photo: Placer County Sheriff’s Office

Hero Cat Who Saved Boy from Dog Attack Honored in 2018 Rose Parade

Remember this amazing viral video captured by a security camera a few years ago? As a little boy sat on his bicycle in his Bakersfield, Calif., front yard, a neighbor’s Chow/Lab mix ran at him, bit his leg and pulled him to the ground. The boy’s mom ran to save him.

But before she could reach him, like a superhero from out of nowhere, the family’s cat, a 7-year-old Tabby named Tara, pounced on the dog and chased him away.

The 5-year-old boy, Jeremy Triantafilo, needed 10 stitches on his leg, but it could have been a lot worse if not for Tara, a former stray adopted by his family. (Sadly, although several people offered to adopt and rehabilitate the 8-month-old dog, and thousands signed online petitions asking for the young dog’s life to be spared, his owner decided to have him euthanized.)

For the first time ever, in 2015 the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) gave its annual National Hero Dog honor to a cat — Tara.

“We were so impressed by Tara’s bravery and fast action that the selection committee decided that a cat this spectacular should be the National Hero Dog,” spcaLA President Madeline Bernstein said in a statement at the time.

Three years later, Tara is being honored for her bravery again — this time by being featured on a float in the 2018 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. The parade’s theme this year is “Making a Difference.”

Tara and her family will be aboard the Lucy Pet “Paws For Life” float, which honors heroic animals who saved, protected and made a difference in human lives: specifically, three dogs and one cat.

“We are honored to be working with such heroic animals and the people who love them,” said Joey Herrick, president and founder of the Lucy Pet Foundation and Lucy Pet Products. “We salute the animals for their love, companionship and bravery…whether it’s a cat protecting a little boy from a vicious dog attack or a military working dog shielding soldiers in combat, they each deserve this very special recognition.”

Lucy Pet is a family-owned pet-product business based in California. Its proceeds help fund the nonprofit Lucy Pet Foundation, whose mission is to reduce pet overpopulation and the euthanasia of over 60,000 dogs and cats per week in the United States.

Tara joins these canine heroes on the Lucy Pet float:

  • Sirius, a retired K-9 military working dog who was in Afghanistan with his best friend and handler, 22-year-old Marine Sgt. Joshua Ashley, when Ashley was killed by an IED. Although the German Shepherd was also injured, he returned to Afghanistan again for an additional tour of duty. Sirius was adopted by Ashley’s family and will ride the float with Joshua’s mom, Tammie, in memory of her son.
  • Jax, a Belgian Malinois police dog with the Oxnard Police Department in California. During a recent routine traffic stop, Jax sniffed out 5 pounds of methamphetamine disguised to look like a wrapped birthday gift. He also apprehended a man trying to set a homeless encampment on fire.
  • Rocket, a Border Collie mix who was going to be euthanized by a shelter due to his high energy level (what?!). Fortunately, a Search Dog Foundation recruiter saw his potential and rescued him. Rocket now pays it forward by saving victims who become trapped during natural disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and the Northern California wildfires this past year.

Actor, animal advocate and totally cool guy Danny Trejo will also be riding on the float with his rescue dog, Penny Lane.

High above the float is a replica of an Army Black Hawk helicopter, from which a highly specialized military working dog team will demonstrate a tandem rappelling operation during the parade. At the center of the float is “a rotating hexagon, with eight magnificently detailed floral-graphs, featur[ing] many inspiring photographic moments of heroic pets and working canines,” according to the Pasadena Star-News.

For the 2017 Tournament of Roses Parade, the Lucy Pet Foundation’s “Beachside Paradise” float, featuring eight surfing dogs, broke two Guinness World Records as the parade’s longest and heaviest float ever.

The 129th Rose Parade begins at 8 a.m. PST on Jan. 1. You can watch it live on ABC, NBC, the Hallmark Channel, HGTV and other channels.

Photo: spcaLA

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