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 Dog Saves Woman's Life
By Cathleen O'Toole, WPBF Reporter, September 16, 2008
WPBF's Cathleen O'Toole reports on a smart service dog named Midas, who
helped his master keep breathing.
Myrna has Muscular Dystrophy and only has movement in her wrist and toes. She
cannot lift her arm to scratch her face. She cannot pick up her arm if it falls
off her armrest. She has been partnered with her service dog, Midas, since 2001.
This is her story.
MIDAS EARNS A GOLD STAR FOR HEROISM
Greetings. My name is Myrna and my companion's name is My Midas. He became my
hero just about a month after we became partners after team training at New
Horizons Service Dogs.
It was early in the morning, about 5 a.m. After getting ready to start our
daily routine and go to work, Midas and I said good-bye to my husband and son.
We went out the door of our apartment, to the hallway, then to the sidewalk that
takes us to the parking lot, where we wait for the special transportation to
pick us up and take us to my place of employment. Since this is something that
we have been doing for a month, I hold the leash in my hand while we are
outside. I was not aware that during the night the maintenance people had dug up
part of the sidewalk leaving it uneven.
Suddenly I felt the front tire of my wheelchair sink, and because of the
limited mobility in my hands I was not able to prevent what came next. The front
of the wheelchair sank in the hole, and it tilted forward. I ended up in the
grass face down with a 300-pound power wheelchair on top of my back. For a
moment I felt that my world was about to come to an end. I could not distinguish
from the darkness of the morning or from the accident. I tried to call for help,
but my voice was not loud enough for anyone to hear me.
At that moment Midas somehow got the leash out of my hand, and came to me and
licked me in my face, sort of making sure that I was alive. I was able to tell
him, "Midas, we are in trouble. Get help."
I had no idea if he knew what I was talking about. I was just sort of talking
to myself, trying to think how I got to the ground. Midas licked me one more
time and left. He went back to my apartment door, got up on his back legs and
started making growling noises and scratching the door. My husband was getting
our son ready for school when he heard the noise. He was curious about the
reason Midas was back at the door when he knew we should be out front waiting
for our van pick up. He opened the door and saw Midas growling and running back
and forth, sort of telling him to follow.
My husband ran outside and found me on the ground. Midas came to where I was
and sat near me until my husband was able to unbuckle the seat belt and get the
wheelchair off my back and then pick me up from the ground. I had bruised ribs
and a bump on my forehead, but if Midas had not been there, it could have been
hours before anyone noticed that I was injured. Because of his actions my
injuries were less than they would have been. He kissed me twice to make sure
that I stayed alert. He really might have saved my life that day.
Midas received an honorary Heroic Certificate for his bravery and for finding
help for me from the Red Cross. New Horizons Service
Dogs not only provided me with a lifetime partner to help me with my
daily needs, but also they have given me the opportunity to expand my horizons
and become active and productive member of our community again. Since I received
Midas, my life has changed drastically. I have gone from being homebound and
very dependent on physical assistance, with frequent panic attacks to a very
independent, outgoing and active member of our community. Midas has given me a
way to return to real life.
Myrna has currently completed the requirements to become an elementary school
teacher and will be seeking employment in the 2005 school term.
http://www.hogsfordogs.com/story07.htm
Family twice saved by their pet dogs
By Gold Coast Publications, QLD, Australia, August 11, 2008
 THE
Irving family owe their lives to their beloved pets. It was their
seven-month-old german shepherd Rahni who alerted them with her frantic barking
when their Arundel home went up in flames late on Friday night. Lisa Irving
believes that were it not for Rahni they may not have had time to flee the
burning home.
Five years ago, it was another of their family pets that saved the life of the
Irvings' son, John, and became the family hero.
John, with golden retriever Johben by his side, had been delivering The Sun
newspaper after school near his Arundel home when a ferocious pitbull terrier
charged the 13-year-old. Johben, seeing his best friend in trouble, ran and
shielded John and took the brunt of the attack.
Johben, who sustained 32 puncture wounds, was later crowned the Gold Coast
Bulletin Pet of the Year for his heroic instincts.
Last Friday night, Lisa Irving had been sitting outside her home in Fadden Close
when Rahni started barking at the garage door about 11.15pm. "She was going off
and barking like crazy and then I thought I could hear crackles," she said. "I
opened the door and was thrown straight back by the fire which burned my hair. I
yelled out there was a fire and everyone got moving."
Her husband, Greg, and youngest son, Ben, were inside the house at the time. Her
other son, John, was out with mates. Mr Irving, who had been watching the
Olympics in the lounge room, started running around the house doing his best to
salvage as much as possible. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Ben jumped out of bed and
escaped through the back of the house before having to knock down a side gate to
reach the safety of the street. Firefighters worked to contain the blaze which
engulfed the home within minutes. More than 70 per cent of the home was gutted
while the rest was left with extensive smoke damage.
The family, who had been renting the property, managed to salvage clothes and
other property from the back rooms of the house, but their new Ford Falcon was
destroyed.
The couple did not have contents insurance but property owner Geoff Hollis said
the house was insured. Fire investigators believe an electrical fault in the
garage may have started the blaze.
Mrs Irving said if Rahni had not made such a fuss, the damage could have been
much worse. "If it hadn't been for the dog who knows what could have happened?"
she said. "It would easily have been in the lounge room before we knew what was
going on and then the whole house would have been lost."
The Irvings had bought Rahni after Johben was diagnosed with cancer and was put
to sleep, but had no idea their new pet would be a hero too.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/08/11/14797_gold-coast-news.html
Trusty golden retriever saves master's life in tribal village
By China Post News Staff, September 13, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A middle-aged woman from a remote
aboriginal tribal village is currently under careful
treatment at the Puli Christian Hospital, thanks to her
loyal golden retriever.
Chen-Huang Tsun-mei, 52, lives alone with her pet dog, a
golden retriever by the name of "Ah Bao," meaning "treasure"
or "precious one" in Chinese.
She had a stroke and lapsed into a coma Wednesday evening.
Detecting something wrong with its master, Ah Bao rushed to
the home of Gan Shiu-shiang, a next-door neighbor in the
same village in Renai Township in central Nantou County.
Unable to talk, Ah Bao clutched Gan's pant leg and wouldn't
let go. Alerted by the dog's unusual behavior, Gan went to
her neighbor's home to take a look.
Finding her friend lying on the kitchen floor, she
immediately dialed "119" for emergency help. A rescue team
swiftly took Chen-Huan to the Puli Christian Hospital.
Doctors said Chen-Huang had a stroke with internal bleeding.
They kept her in the emergency care unit for close
observation.
Chen-Huang is a widow with three sons who are all presently
in the military service, according to Gan. One of them
bought the mother a pet for company more than one year ago.
Ah Bao has since followed her everywhere.
Gan and local police officers praised Ah Bao as a smart and
heroic dog. Except for enjoying the food provided by Gan and
police, Ah Bao now spends most of time looking out the door
to wait for its master's return.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/print/174453.htm
Golden retriever brings rescue to his master
By Clayta Richards, Crossville Chronicle, August 6, 2008
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Smokey, a four-year-old golden retriever, is devoted to his master,
Marvin King. King has always loved Smokey, and now he is very
thankful that Smokey brought help to him when he turned over the
Lake Dartmoor terrain in back of his home and needed rescue.
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Marvin King was trying to make life a little easier for his wife, Shirley. They
had temporarily stored some flowers they had purchased in the garage at their
146 Lynhurst Dr. home in Fairfield Glade. The flowers needed to be moved into
the backyard right away. So, the helpful husband climbed on his John Deere Gator
to go about the task, as Shirley would be at her job at Hughes Real Estate for a
good part of the day. That evening, they were looking forward to joining
neighborhood friends for dinner at the Whitestone Inn at Watts Bar. Getting this
job out of the way early would make the evening go better.
Smokey, the family's four-year-old golden retriever, was in his usual position,
right by Marvin's side as he drove around the house. He doesn't know exactly
what happened in the backyard to cause the wreck, but Marvin remembers the Gator
was suddenly bounding over two retaining walls; he hit a sidewalk along the way
and landed in some rocks. Sitting above Lake Dartmoor, the landscape beyond the
immediate backyard is wooded and vertical. That's where Marvin was, Gator still
upright, but on top of him with his ankle lodged between the vehicle and a tree.
His left leg was broken, he thinks from his collision with the sidewalk. He
wasn't really sure what he was going to do. It was about 11 a.m. and Shirley
wouldn't be home for quite some time.
"I yelled, but I began to get sick at my stomach," remembered Marvin. "I
thought, 'this is going to be a long time.'"
Smokey, very unlike himself, began to bark loudly and run back and forth from
Marvin towards a next-door neighbor's yard sounding the alarm.
Keith Pontius knows Smokey Mountain Dawg (Smokey's official name) very well.
"I've always liked him," said Pontius. Shirley recalled, "The family came and
got Smokey one day earlier this summer, and the next day I got e-mailed pictures
of him with Keith's granddaughters out in the boat on the lake."
Recognizing his main human being, Marvin, was in big trouble, Smokey seemed to
know he could trust the neighbor for help. Luckily, Pontius was in his office,
where side windows face the vertical part of Marvin's backyard. "I noticed
Smokey's barking because he usually doesn't do that," said Pontius. It was so
unusual, that he ventured outside onto the back deck. He still couldn't see
Marvin, but the dog's behavior convinced him to investigate.
Pontius found his neighbor laying head pointed down towards the lake and lodged
against a tree. It was obvious they'd need help, but down in the cove of the
lake, the cell phone didn't have a signal, so it was back to the house to call
9-1-1.
Marvin has been a volunteer firefighter in the Glade for three years.
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Keith Pontius has been a friend and neighbor of Smokey’s for a long time. Smokey trusted him to bring help to his master when he was hurt behind his Lake Dartmoore home.
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"I tell you what, when that first fireman (Bob Bennett) came over the hill, he
sure looked good," said Marvin. And, suddenly, it was the like the cavalry had
arrived, as about 30 firefighters showed up.
Fire chief Bob Citkovic took charge and immediately saw they'd have to get
Smokey contained. Marvin was going to be hard to rescue with Smokey licking his
face. Pontius took the dog up the hill, but he broke loose to go back to his
owner. Eventually, Smokey was convinced to stand back and let the humans take
care of Marvin.
The firefighters muscled the Gator off Marvin and brought down a rescue chair to
place him in while they pulled him to the top of the hill.
Marvin remembered a comment about the firefighters' struggle to get him topside.
"You gave us our stress test for the year," Pat Donohue had told him.
It was hospital food for Marvin that night, not the Whitestone Inn, and that was
the way it was for the next six days. He got out on the Fourth of July, and
Smokey was so eager when he saw his master was home, he climbed right on top of
him in the hospital bed they had set up at the house. There was a lot more face
licking.
Marvin had come home with instructions he would be unable to put any weight on
his foot for months. As of the date of the interview, July 30, he announced
without hesitation, "It'll be nine weeks and three days with no weight on it
yet." At the hospital, he had also needed two units of blood due to the effects
of heavy bruising.
Recuperating now at his lakeside window above Lake Dartmoor, Marvin laments that
there'll be no boating this summer and he won't be able to play golf or tend to
the cup setting at Stonehenge Golf Course, where he works. But, he feels
incredibly lucky to be alive. "The doctor told me that if Smokey hadn't brought
help, I might have died if I'd had to lay there for several hours. I sure think
a lot of this dog," said Marvin.
Marvin and Shirley moved to Fairfield Glade approximately four years ago, but
have owned their Glade property over 20 years. Marvin, who was born in Kentucky,
and moved north to Michigan when he was 18 years old, spent 40 years working at
General Motors. Shirley had a financial planning practice with American Express
in Michigan. The couple have four children (three boys and one girl) and four
grandchildren — the youngest is almost four months old.
http://www.crossville-chronicle.com/gladesun/local_story_219153108.html
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