dog hero Archives - i Still Love Dogs

Homeless Pit Bull Helps Rescue Kittens Trapped in Storm Drain

Harvey, a Pit Bull with an irresistible smile, has spent too long a time in long-term sanctuary care at Faithful Friends Animal Society, a no-kill shelter in Delaware. Hopefully, thanks to his recent heroic efforts, Harvey will soon find himself in a forever home.

As he was being taken for a walk, Harvey ran up to a storm drain and started barking. Checking to see what Harvey was barking about, his handler discovered a kitten trapped inside the drain.

That kitten was rescued thanks to Harvey, and within two weeks the Faithful Friends team was able to save two other kittens that were stuck in the same drain. The three kittens — Beta, Brie, and Brewster — are now in foster homes and will be ready for adoption soon.

In the meantime, the hero dog whose barking saved the kittens’ lives is also more than ready for adoption. Harvey enjoys outdoor activities like running and hiking, as well as indoor activities like cuddling and watching TV, so it seems like it won’t be too difficult for him to find the perfect home. While he does have some dog pals at the shelter, Faithful Friends says Harvey would do best as the only pet.

According to Laura Elizabeth in a comment on the Faithful Friends Animal Society’s Facebook page, Harvey had been adopted but was returned to the shelter in 2014 when his owners broke up or divorced and couldn’t keep him. “He takes some time to get used to new people, but he is such a love bug and oh so goofy!” she wrote.

The Faithful Friends Sanctuary Care Program “provides a place for animals who are harder to adopt due to terminal illness, medical conditions or behavior challenges,” according to a post on its Facebook page.

If you’re interested in adopting Harvey the hero dog (yay, you!), email taylor@faithfulfriends.us. And please visit the Faithful Friends Animal Society website to make a donation to help them rescue more awesome dogs.

Photo: Faithful Friends Animal Society/Facebook

15 Fascinating Facts About Sgt. Stubby, the Most Decorated US Military Dog

Sgt. Stubby — who was believed to be a Pit Bull mix — was the most decorated war dog in U.S. history. Here are some interesting things to know about this four-legged hero.

1. Stubby was a stray dog, wandering around a Yale University field, when he was rescued in 1917 by John Robert Conroy, a soldier being trained for World War I combat.

2. Conroy didn’t want to leave Stubby behind when his unit was shipped off to France. He concealed his dog inside an overcoat and smuggled him onto his ship.

3. Once he was discovered, Stubby became the “unofficial official mascot” of the 102nd Infantry, 26th (Yankee) Division in France.

4. He was hit in the leg by a grenade in early 1918, but that didn’t stop him. He kept other injured soldiers company as he recovered. (Perhaps he was the world’s first therapy dog!)

5. Not long after his leg healed and he returned to the trenches, he was sprayed with mustard gas. Did this stop our resilient hero? No way. In fact, he remembered the scent and barked to warn the soldiers of subsequent gas attacks, saving many lives.

6. Not only did his sense of smell save lives, but so did his sense of hearing. He was aware of the whine of artillery shells before the soldiers could hear it, so he would bark to let them know they should take cover.

7. Because he was a lot shorter than the other soldiers, he could easily scoot under barbed wire in so-called “no man’s lands” to bring supplies to wounded soldiers.

8. When a spy began speaking German to Stubby, the dog chomped onto the seat of his pants and held on until his fellow soldiers arrived.

9. He spent a total of 18 months in France, participating in 17 battles on the Western Front.

10. Legend has it that he even saved a little girl from getting hit by a car in Paris by pushing her out of harm’s way.

11. He was the first – and only – military dog to be promoted to sergeant.

12. At the end of World War I, Conroy smuggled him back to the United States, where the dog got a well-deserved hero’s welcome. He met presidents, led parades, and became an honorary lifetime member of the American Legion, Red Cross and YMCA.

13. In 1926, around the age of 10, he died peacefully in Conroy’s arms.

14. He is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in the exhibit, “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War.”

15. Sadly, this hero dog wouldn’t be allowed to live in housing on Army bases in the United States today. Pit Bulls, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Doberman Pinschers and some other dogs are banned from military housing because these breeds are allegedly “dangerous.” But the only thing “dangerous” is the military’s unfair stereotyping of these dogs.

This story, one of i Still Love Dogs’ most popular, was originally posted on Memorial Day 2015. The computer-animated feature film, “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero,” was released in 2018 and as of November 2019 is available on HBO.

Photos: Public domain; amhistory.si.edu

Rescued Pit Bull Mix Rescues Family Just 2 Days after Adoption

Silvia Reyes and her family adopted a 1-year-old Pit Bull mix named Candi on Saturday during an event held by Miami-Dade County Animal Services.

Just two days later, Candi returned the favor by saving the lives of her new forever family.

Monday night, as Reyes, her husband and their 13-year-old son were sleeping in their Pinecrest, Fla., townhouse, Candi started barking downstairs and wouldn’t stop.

“We heard a lot of barking and howling,” Reyes told Local 10. “To my surprise, at one in the morning, I came down and our kitchen was engulfed in smoke.”

The smoke was pouring out of the refrigerator. “The compressor was making some kind of bad connection,” Reyes said.

Everyone was able to get out of the house safely, although the hero dog began vomiting and having breathing difficulties.

The Reyes family rushed her to an animal hospital, where X-rays revealed she had suffered a collapsed lung due to smoke inhalation. She spent the day there yesterday, receiving oxygen and IV fluids.

Candi is now back at home with her grateful family, and is expected to make a full recovery.

“She rescued us. She saved our lives, I promise you,” Reyes told Local 10. “I mean, we were sleeping. We wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

Photo via Twitter

Pit Bulls Rescued from Dog-Fighting Ring Save Family from House Fire

Last summer the Pruchnicki family of Farnham, N.Y., adopted Shrek and Fiona, two Pit Bulls that had been rescued as puppies from a dog-fighting operation. Early this morning, the two dogs, along with Ivan, the Pruchnickis’ other rescued Pit Bull, paid it forward by alerting the family to a house fire.

“It was about 3:30 in the morning. I heard the dogs going crazy.” Dave Pruchnicki told WIVB.

The house had smoke alarms, but the dogs started barking before they went off.

Shrek was the most vocal. “He was halfway up the stairs, and he usually doesn’t come up the stairs at all. You know he was telling us to get out,” Dave said.

“We went downstairs to look and see what’s up with the dogs. The whole front porch was basically engulfed.”

His wife, Dusty, grabbed their 5-year-old son and they all ran out of the house.

“As soon as we hit the side door, the front windows blew in and the whole house went up in flames,” Dave said.

The house was destroyed. “Our memories, our pictures,” Dusty told WIVB. “I’m just glad that I have my son, and my dogs and my husband, and we’re healthy and we’re happy and we can replace everything in our house.”

The fire started on the front porch when embers that had been discarded in a steel bin were rekindled, Chief Peter Chiavetta of the Farnham Volunteer Fire Department told the Buffalo News.

Dave and Dusty said that if the dogs had not been there, they probably would not have survived the fire.

“Like I say, we rescued them and they rescued us, so I think we’re even now,” Dave told WIVB.

Photo via Facebook

Hero Pit Bull Quarantined after Saving Girl from Rabid Raccoon

Eleven-year-old Savannah Vanase was cleaning the chicken coop in her family’s Norwich, Conn., backyard earlier this month when she was approached by a raccoon.

The family’s Pit Bull, 21-month-old Tank, saw the raccoon, which was just inches away from Vanase.

“All of a sudden my dog comes barking and sprinting under [the coop], and I look under, and there’s this huge raccoon,” Vanase told WTIC-TV. “I just didn’t know what to do. I just stood right here.”

She said she was surprised to see her mild-mannered snuggle buddy turn into “Super Puppy.”

“They were just tussling, and the raccoon went on his back and scratched him on his face, and Tank kept trying to pounce on him,” Vanase said.

Tank killed the raccoon, which later tested positive for rabies.

Unfortunately, Tank’s heroic act has the possibility of ending in an “Old Yeller” type tragedy for the pup. His rabies booster shot was a few days overdue. If he was infected, he will have to be euthanized.

Tank must be quarantined at a local animal shelter for six months to see if he develops symptoms of rabies. Animal control officer Donna Gremminger told KTRK that if Tank’s vaccinations had been up to date, he would have required a 45-day home quarantine.

“We’re trying to avoid [euthanization] and give him his fair chance,” Savannah’s dad, Chris Vanase, told WTIC-TV. “It’s the least I could do for saving my daughter.”

Gremminger said Tank has so far shown no signs of rabies, and said that none of the dogs she has seen quarantined in the shelter have turned out to be infected.

The six members of the Vanase family must also undergo a series of treatments for rabies.

“When he comes home, (I’m going to) make him a big, nice, peanut-butter-bone-treat cake and hug him as hard as I can,” Samantha told KTRK.

Hopefully Tank’s story will have a happier ending than “Old Yeller.” And hopefully Tank’s family will make sure his vaccinations are up to date for the rest of this hero’s life.

Photo via Facebook