It’s been said that a dog is man’s best friend. Perhaps no other animal is as loyal, and with their goofy smiles and puppy dog eyes, what’s not to love? Treat your dog well and you’ll have a source of unconditional love for years.
One dog recently got dubbed a hero after miraculously getting the attention of a stranger and leading him to its owners, who were both unconscious in a tent. Now the internet can’t get enough of the very, very good boy.
It’s been said that a dog is man’s best friend, and this doggo proved it yet again with his heroic actions
Image credits: WTAE-TV Pittsburgh / YouTube
The dog kept trying to get the attention of a stranger, finally leading him to a tent encampment in the woods
A man is recalling his encounter with a real-life Lassie on social media. Gary Thynes was spending some quality time with his dog at a park in Pittsburgh's North Shore when another dog came up to them, ostensibly trying to get his attention.
According to Thynes, the dog would come just close enough for him to be out of arm's reach, and then he would bark, turn around, run a few steps, turn around, and bark again. “It felt like he was trying to get my attention... I got this overwhelming feeling that he wanted me to follow him,” he tells ABC affiliate WTAE.
Image credits: Mehdi Gholipour / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The stranger found two people, a man and a woman, both unresponsive, so he called 911 immediately
Thynes says he left his own dog with a friend, letting the agitated pup lead him along a railroad track into a wooded area, where he got a creepy feeling. According to Thynes, he arrived at a tent encampment with two people. "At first, I saw just one gentleman. I tried to get his attention to wake him up, but he wouldn't. He was completely unresponsive. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not," he said.
He then turned around to find a pair of legs sticking out of a tent. He tried to shake them, but the woman in the tent was also unconscious. He immediately called 911, and the place was swarming with police and medics within minutes.
Image credits: Ellgene Thynes / Facebook
"I know how quickly you need to react to save someone's life," Thynes said. "And so, the very first thing that went through my head was: immediately call. Call the police. Get someone out there as fast as they can go." The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety confirmed that an unresponsive male and female were taken to a local hospital.
Image credits: WTAE-TV Pittsburgh / YouTube
Help arrived soon after and the people were taken to hospital, but animal control said they had to take the dog to a pound
As for the heroic act of the brave pup who alerted him to the emergency situation, he had this to say, "He's amazing, and he definitely saved some lives yesterday. He is a persistent little puppy." The lifesaving doggo is currently in his care while the man and woman remain in the hospital.
Image credits: Zachary Casler / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
In a Facebook post, Thynes shares that he offered to take the pup in after animal control showed up. "Animal control said they had to take the dog to the pound, far outside the city. I figured that these folks wouldn’t be able to get out there to get him back … much less be able to afford the fees to get him out. So I said that I would take the dog home with me," he wrote.
Thynes said it's "an honor" to help care for the courageous dog. "I know how important the unconditional love of your dog can be, and how much love they have for you," he wrote. "So it is an honor for me to take care of this guy until his humans are well enough to reunite with a dog that loves them very much."
The stranger stepped in and offered to take care of the persistent pup until it could be reunited with its owners, and netizens are thrilled at the news
