Dogs, it’s been said, are man’s best friend. Not only are they our companions, it turns out they can be pretty helpful during an emergency. Here are some real-life stories of dogs saving people and coming to the rescue to help their human companions.

Stories of dogs saving people

Dog leads police to crash site
Early in 2022, police in Lebanon, New Hampshire, responded to calls about a German Shepherd who was wandering along a snow-covered highway. They assumed it was a stray, but every time they tried to get close, the dog would run away and lead them farther down the road. Eventually it led them past the state line and into Vermont, where it stopped near a broken guardrail, leading authorities to a crashed pickup truck. The dog, Tinsley, had led police to its seriously injured and hypothermic owners. The dog avoided injury in the crash. (The Week, 1-21-2022, p. 5)

Dog detects gas leak to save neighborhood
Kobe, a 4 – year-old husky, may have saved his Philadelphia neighborhood from a future explosion after he alerted its residents to a hazardous underground gas leak. On Dec. 21, 2023, Kobe started compulsively digging in his owner’s yard. Chanell Bell had just had a gas leak in her house earlier that month, so she went outside with a gas detection device and discovered high levels near the area Kobe was digging. She called the authorities, who discovered 3 large leaks in the gas main running through the neighborhood that could have caused serious health problems or even a catastrophic blast. “It feels amazing to know Kobe saved our block,” Bell says. (The Week, 1-26-2024, p. 5)

Dog saves child from rattlesnake bite
In 2004, a family was hiking in Roseville, California, when the by stumbled right into the path of a rattlesnake. As the snake was about to strike, Jet, the family’s black Labrador, jumped in front of the boy to save his best friend, absorbing the snake’s venom. Both boy and dog made it out okay: the grateful family rushed the dog to a vet, who managed to deliver thee anti-venom in time to save Jet’s life.

Jogger saved by Dog
In Saugus, Massachusetts, police say a local woman may have been saved by her barking dog.  The woman was jogging with her dog when a man approached her holding a knife.  The woman’s dog started barking, causing other dogs in the area to join in.  All the barking appears to have spoked the suspect, who ran away. (USA Today, 10-3-2014)