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Guide Dog Calls 911 and Saves Blind Woman from House Fire

When Yolanda, a guide dog who lives in Philadelphia with a blind woman in her 60s, smelled smoke coming from the basement early yesterday morning, she called 911 on a specially equipped phone.

She then woke up her dog mom and led her out of the house, saving her life — for the second time. Last year, Yolanda called 911 when her dog mom fell and lost consciousness.

The woman was taken to a local hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Yolanda is also being treated for smoke inhalation by Penn Vet, according to a tweet this afternoon from the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, a Philadelphia nonprofit that provides relief for displaced pets & their pet parents.

The two may have lost their home, but they still have their lives — and each other.

“Yolanda is a superhero!” the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team wrote on its Facebook page yesterday. I couldn’t agree more.

Photo via Facebook

Blind Man Hikes Nearly 18,000 Miles with Help of Guide Dog

Extreme sports enthusiast Trevor Thomas lost his eyesight nine years ago due to an autoimmune disease. At first he was understandably depressed, but he decided that he wouldn’t let his blindness interfere with his love of the great outdoors.

With the help of his guide dog Tennille, a black Lab, Thomas has hiked nearly 18,000 miles since 2006. His trail name is Zero/Zero, in reference to his vision.

“I do hiking to see what’s humanly possible for a blind person,” Thomas told 7 News Denver.

What’s even cooler is that his hikes raise money for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Thomas has already hiked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. On June 19, Thomas and Tennille embarked on a 500-mile, 38-day hike along the rugged Colorado Trail.

“I use every resource available and all my senses to navigate,” Thomas told the Denver Post. “Everything in the world has a particular sound, and from those sounds I can get a primitive idea of what an environment is like.”

He said his current hike is the most challenging yet, particularly because of the potential for thunder and snow storms.

“I can get struck by lightning just like any other hiker,” he told the Denver Post. “I don’t have any storm super-sense. Snow is a blind person’s navigational nightmare. You can’t feel the trail.”

Tennille helps by guiding Thomas along the trail, around boulders and away from the edges of cliffs.

“She points out the things that can hurt me,” Thomas told the Denver Post. “She knows how tall I am and warns me about low hanging tree limbs. No other dog has been trained to do this before. She’s one of a kind.”

Thomas’ vision may be zero/zero, but he is still a visionary. Along with helping Guide Dogs for the Blind, he has launched the nonprofit Team Farsight Foundation. Its purpose is to “empower blind and visually impaired young adults while challenging the misconceptions the sighted community has toward the blind,” according to the website.

Happy trails to Thomas and Tennille. You can track their hike on blindhikertrevorthomas.com. To make a donation to Guide Dogs for the Blind on their behalf, click here.

Photos via Facebook

Hero Guide Dog Tries to Protect Blind Woman from Being Hit by Bus

JUNE 10, 2015 UPDATE: An awesome, unidentified benefactor is paying for all of Figo’s veterinary bills. More good news: Figo won’t have to wear a “cone of shame.”

“He’s a good boy and he’s leaving his bandage alone,” Dr. Angela O’Donnell of Middlebranch Veterinary told the Journal News today. “That points to the strides he’s making. If it was bothering him more, he probably would be chewing at it.”

Audrey Stone, whose life Figo saved, told the Journal News the dog “deserves the purple heart.” If you’d like to send her a card or note, mail it to Audrey Stone, c/o Trinity Lutheran Church, 2103 Route 6, Brewster, NY 10509.

The driver of a mini-bus apparently didn’t see Audrey Stone, who is blind, and her guide dog, Figo, walking across a street in Brewster, N.Y., yesterday morning.

Figo, however, immediately saw the bus coming toward them. He literally sprang into action and jumped toward the vehicle.

“I don’t know if (the driver) thought (Stone) was going to move faster, but it looks like the dog tried to take most of the hit for her,” Paul Schwartz, who witnessed it all, told the Journal News.

Both Figo and Stone were hit by the bus, but thanks to the guide dog’s heroic action, they are alive today. Stone suffered several fractures, and Figo’s right front leg was severely cut.

“There were 15 EMTs and people all around her, and the dog didn’t want to leave her side,” Schwartz said. “He was flopping over to her and she didn’t want him to get away from her, either. She kept screaming, ‘Where’s Figo?’ We kept telling her he was fine.”

Dogs are not allowed in ambulances, so after Stone was taken away to a hospital, Schwartz said the guide dog seemed kind of lost. Firefighters put Figo in their truck and took him to Middlebranch Veterinary, where he had surgery on his leg.

A staff member told the Journal News Figo was welcome to stay at the animal hospital “as long as Audrey needs before she takes him home.”

In an update on its Facebook page this morning, the animal hospital wrote, “All of us at Middlebranch Veterinary would like to thank everyone for the generous outpouring of well wishes for the service dog Figo. He is resting comfortably and recovering nicely from his wounds.”

Photos via Facebook, Twitter