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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.”

German Shepherd Leads Firefighters to Children in Burning House

Maxx, a German Shepherd, is being hailed as a hero for his help in saving the lives of two children after his family’s house in Longwood, Fla., went up in flames Monday night.

Neighbors who heard an explosion around 11:30 p.m. called 911 and rushed over to help the family.

“We heard a loud boom from a house that is just a couple houses down from here,” Chip Dover told News 6. “We saw orange flames coming out.”

Using patio furniture, Dover and his son, Andrew, were able to break windows and pull out Maxx’s dog mom, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Investigator Margo Feaser.

When firefighters arrived, they busted down the front door and rescued Feaser’s husband, Brent.

But the couple’s 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son were still inside the burning house.

Margo Feaser, a 12-year veteran of SCSO who also served overseas with the U.S. Army during Operation Enduring Freedom, had to be held back from running into the house to save her children. But Maxx stepped in and led the firefighters through flames and thick smoke to the boy and girl.

“I am not surprised, and it certainly tugs at my heart knowing that the majority of our dogs and our pets would do that for any one of us,” Dr. Chloe Magaldino of Sanlando Animal Hospital told WESH. “Even though a lot of us say, ‘My dog would not do that’ or ‘My dog is such a wimp,’ I can almost guarantee, nine times out of 10, that they would put your life, your safety, ahead of their own.”

Maxx was treated at a local veterinary hospital for smoke inhalation and minor burns to his paws. His family, however, remains hospitalized, with injuries ranging from serious to critical — but they all are expected to survive.

“We are grateful to the neighbors who jumped into action, and we especially thank the firefighters who selflessly entered the burning structure and risked their lives for the Feaser family,” Sheriff Don Eslinger said in a statement. “There is a long road of recovery and rebuilding ahead, but our Sheriff’s Office family will be with Margo and her family every step of the way. We know our community is behind them too, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support the family has received.”

The fire, which completely destroyed the house, was accidental, according to the state fire marshal’s preliminary investigation. It started on the back porch.

To help the Feaser family pay their medical and veterinary bills as well as temporary housing expenses, a GoFundMe page has been created. As of this morning, more than $17,800 has been donated.

You can also make a contribution by check to the “Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Employee Benevolent Fund” and send it to 100 Bush Boulevard, Sanford, FL 32773, Attention: “Feaser Family Fund.”

Photos via GoFundMe.com

Hero Pit Bull Mix Honored for Saving Family from Home Intruders

When Theresa Lero went outside to feed her horses one morning two weeks ago, two armed and masked young men entered her Gulfport, Miss. house.

“The dog came trotting down the hall, growling at the door, and I said, ‘What is it, Leon?'” Lero told the Sun Herald. “I went over to the window to look at the door and facing me in my pass-through window was a man in a ski mask with a gun. I said, ‘What?’ Then I said, ‘Out!'”

Lero ran to her bedroom to wake her husband, Brickford, who was still sleeping.

“She woke me up basically screaming, ‘Get the gun, get the gun,’ and they took off,” Brickford Lero told WDAM.

She grabbed a gun and told Leon, their 2-year-old Pit Bull mix, to “Get ’em.” The two chased after the intruders.

Lero tried to fire her gun at the two men, but there wasn’t a bullet in a chamber. “They shot at me and I just went clickety, clickety, click,” she told the Sun Herald.

The intruders began shooting. Lero said one bullet whizzed by her on the right, one on the left — and a third struck Leon in the head.

“Even after he was wounded, he was after them,” Lero told WDAM.

“You shot my dog. I’ll kill you myself,” Lero yelled at the intruders. Her neighbors heard her threat and called 911.

The intruders were chased away, and the Leros rushed Leon to a vet. Miraculously, the bullet had skidded along the top of the dog’s skull and exited out his ear, narrowly missing his brain.

“He actually walked into the ER,” Lero told the Sun Herald. “I said, ‘How many gunshot-wound-to-the-head victims walk in to the ER? Leon says, ‘I do.'”

Lero and her husband rescued Leon from a shelter. Thinking he was a Redbone Coonhound, they named him after the singer Leon Redbone. But it turns out that Leon really may be a red-nose Pit Bull (but they probably won’t change his name to Rudolph).

The intruders, Adam Lee Kennedy and Jonathan Hunter Wesley, were later arrested by police. They had intended to steal drugs and money from another house, but the door was locked, so they went next door to the Leros’ house. Cocaine and $5,000 in drug money were seized from the house they originally targeted.

For his heroic deed, Leon received a framed certificate of bravery Thursday from Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson.

The certificate honors Leon “for his courage, bravery and self-sacrifice on March 21, when he protected his family during a home invasion without regard for his own safety. Even after receiving serious wounds during the attack, Leon continued to pursue the criminals, exhibiting a deep love and devotion for his family.”

Peterson told the Sun Herald that Leon is “undoubtedly a hero.”

There are three words this hero will never hear again, Lero told the Sun Herald: “Go get ’em.”

“It nearly got my dog killed,” she said. Although she used to consider Leon just a pet and not a “real dog,” she said she’s changed her mind, now that the rescue dog returned the favor by rescuing his family.

“I guess he showed me,” Lero told the Sun Herald. “He’s my pet and my real dog.”

Photo via Facebook

Hero Pit Bull Saves Teen from Stabbing Attack

“This is for my daughter,” said Jason Perez as he suddenly started stabbing a 19-year-old who was walking his 5-year-old Pit Bull, Droogie, in West Covina, Calif., Saturday afternoon.

It was apparently a case of mistaken identity. The unidentified victim, who was taking a walk with Droogie, his mom and a smaller dog named Pebbles, first encountered Perez a few minutes before the attack. Perez complimented Droogie at the time.

A few minutes later, Perez approached the teen again and asked if his name was Christian, which it is not.

The third time Perez approached the teen, he pulled out a screwdriver and started his unprovoked attack.

“I was backpedaling. I ended up tripping,” the victim told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. His mother tried to block some of Perez’s swings, and then Droogie came to his rescue by pouncing on the attacker.

“The guy attacking me was on the ground,” the victim told NBC Los Angeles. “Droogie was on top of him still attacking him. I remember standing up and then hearing my mom just scream, ‘Run, run.'”

The victim grabbed Droogie’s leash and ran, as Perez continued chasing him. Fortunately the victim’s brother happened to drive by, and drove his family to safety.

Police responding to 911 calls took Perez into custody, charging him with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Perez was hospitalized and treated for bites to his buttocks, torso, arms and legs, West Covina Police Lt. Dennis Patton told the Tribune.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening puncture wounds on his upper body. “I’m feeling fine today,” he told the Tribune the day after the attack.

Droogie, who had previously never shown aggression, suffered a minor stab wound to his neck, but is otherwise doing fine. The victim said his hero dog is getting plenty of rewards for saving him.

“We gave him leftover food last night, sausages this morning and a lot of treats in between,” he told the Tribune.

Photos via Twitter; Twitter

Chihuahua Helps Save Newfoundland from Dog Thief

Silas, a 140-pound Newfoundland, is safe and sound at his home in Canada thanks to his best buddy — a 5-pound Chihuahua named Carly.

It was Carly’s frantic barking Saturday night that got the attention of their dog mom, Sharon Dooling. About a minute before, she had let the dogs out in the backyard of their St. John’s home in, appropriately enough, Newfoundland and Labrador.

When Dooling opened the back door to check on the commotion, she saw that a strange man had put a leash on Silas and was dragging him down the driveway.

“I said, ‘Excuse me, what are you doing?'” Dooling told CBC News. “He told me he’s taking his dog and I said, ‘No, you’re absolutely not.'”

Furious, Dooling ran after the dog thief…and punched him in the face.

“That’s the only thing I could think of,” she told CBC News. “I’m little, I’m a little tiny person and this guy was around 5’8, 5’9, and there was no way that I was going to be able to wrestle the dog out of his hands.”

She grabbed Silas and the man took off, running down the street.

The next day, Carly barked at anyone who passed by the house.

“Never underestimate the power of a yappy Chihuahua,” Dooling told CBC News. “It’s an inconvenience or a nuisance, you could say, when she does bark, but she’s my guard dog.

“Some people have big Dobermans — I have a Chihuahua.”

There have been several recent attempts to steal dogs from their yards in that area, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary reports on its Facebook page. Anyone with information is asked to call the constabulary.

Incidentally, friendships between huge and teeny dogs like Silas and Carly aren’t all that uncommon. For example, meet two Chihuahuas and their BGDFs (best giant dog friends).

Photo via Twitter