These Pets Saved the Day, or Save Every Day, at Home
Before American Humane gives out its Hero Dog Awards on Sept. 29, we celebrate readers’ pets who’ve helped their humans
Irish with Shawnna Durrant
Her Guardian Canine
When Elizabeth Durrant’s oldest daughter, Shawnna, was born, their collie mix, Irish, wanted to be near the baby at all times. One day, when Shawnna was 2, Durrant was doing the dishes at home while Shawnna was napping, and Irish came in, bumped her and left. Durrant ignored it, and Irish came in again to bump her once more. “On the third bump, I shut off the water, and I could hear my daughter gasping,” Durrant writes.
Shawnna was turning blue. In a panic, Durrant reached into her mouth and pulled out a piece of aluminum foil Shawnna had somehow gotten from baby wipes packaging. She survived with only a cut, thanks to Irish.
“From that day forward, Irish was my daughter’s nana,” Durrant says. Irish “followed her everywhere. Irish was well-loved and is never forgotten.”
Her Guardian Canine
When Elizabeth Durrant’s oldest daughter, Shawnna, was born, their collie mix, Irish, wanted to be near the baby at all times. One day, when Shawnna was 2, Durrant was doing the dishes at home while Shawnna was napping, and Irish came in, bumped her and left. Durrant ignored it, and Irish came in again to bump her once more. “On the third bump, I shut off the water, and I could hear my daughter gasping,” Durrant writes.
Shawnna was turning blue. In a panic, Durrant reached into her mouth and pulled out a piece of aluminum foil Shawnna had somehow gotten from baby wipes packaging. She survived with only a cut, thanks to Irish.
“From that day forward, Irish was my daughter’s nana,” Durrant says. Irish “followed her everywhere. Irish was well-loved and is never forgotten.”
Sarita the poodle mix
Close Call
Sherry Hudson was asleep when Sarita, her new poodle-mix puppy, woke her seeming very upset. Hudson, Sarita and Hudson’s other two dogs, Alex and Corona, were camping in a trailer on a friend’s farm while Hudson was house hunting in Canada. Sarita was running from one side of the bed to the other and seemed preoccupied with something outside the back window.
“I finally realized the interior of the trailer was lit up an eerie orange, like I was inside a lava lamp,” Hudson says. The barn the trailer was attached to was on fire, and the trailer was about to go up in flames.
Close Call
Sherry Hudson was asleep when Sarita, her new poodle-mix puppy, woke her seeming very upset. Hudson, Sarita and Hudson’s other two dogs, Alex and Corona, were camping in a trailer on a friend’s farm while Hudson was house hunting in Canada. Sarita was running from one side of the bed to the other and seemed preoccupied with something outside the back window.
“I finally realized the interior of the trailer was lit up an eerie orange, like I was inside a lava lamp,” Hudson says. The barn the trailer was attached to was on fire, and the trailer was about to go up in flames.
What was left of Hudson’s trailer after the fire
Hudson grabbed the dogs and ran barefoot in her pajamas to safety. “All was lost, including my photo collection, but we made it out alive,” she says. “My Sarita now has a place of honor in my home, and life, for saving us all that night. Because of this, she knows she can literally get away with murder, and does, playing in mud being a specialty! But I love her like crazy, and will always owe her my life.”
Hudson grabbed the dogs and ran barefoot in her pajamas to safety. “All was lost, including my photo collection, but we made it out alive,” she says. “My Sarita now has a place of honor in my home, and life, for saving us all that night. Because of this, she knows she can literally get away with murder, and does, playing in mud being a specialty! But I love her like crazy, and will always owe her my life.”
Trish Estepp’s husband, Mark, and Cash
Keeping Dad Happy at Home
Cash, Trish Estepp’s golden retriever, was the perfect companion for Estepp’s father, Hiram. Estepp was caring for her dad, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, for several years while he lived in the house next door. Cash was there to lend a helping paw, staying with Hiram around the clock and, more important, guiding him on daily walks through the wooded area where they lived.
“My dad loved to walk in nature,” Estepp says. “Every day, multiple times a day, Dad would go for a walk in the woods, following Cash. Cash would lead him along his favorite trails and bring him back home — over and over.”
Estepp says those therapeutic hikes allowed Hiram to stay in his home for two more years before he needed additional care.
Keeping Dad Happy at Home
Cash, Trish Estepp’s golden retriever, was the perfect companion for Estepp’s father, Hiram. Estepp was caring for her dad, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, for several years while he lived in the house next door. Cash was there to lend a helping paw, staying with Hiram around the clock and, more important, guiding him on daily walks through the wooded area where they lived.
“My dad loved to walk in nature,” Estepp says. “Every day, multiple times a day, Dad would go for a walk in the woods, following Cash. Cash would lead him along his favorite trails and bring him back home — over and over.”
Estepp says those therapeutic hikes allowed Hiram to stay in his home for two more years before he needed additional care.
Felipe and Sasha
Hardly a Scaredy Cat
Meggie Ghidella had never heard her cat, Felipe, make the sound he made one night that startled Ghidella awake. “To this day, I do not know how that sound came out of him,” she says.
Felipe was standing on Ghidella’s bed, staring at a man who was in the process of opening her window. “I had a bathroom with a deadbolt lock (gotta love those weird old Craftsman homes),” Ghidella writes. “I grabbed my phone and booked it for the bathroom.”
The police found the man in Ghidella’s living room. Felipe had alerted her to potential danger.
Hardly a Scaredy Cat
Meggie Ghidella had never heard her cat, Felipe, make the sound he made one night that startled Ghidella awake. “To this day, I do not know how that sound came out of him,” she says.
Felipe was standing on Ghidella’s bed, staring at a man who was in the process of opening her window. “I had a bathroom with a deadbolt lock (gotta love those weird old Craftsman homes),” Ghidella writes. “I grabbed my phone and booked it for the bathroom.”
The police found the man in Ghidella’s living room. Felipe had alerted her to potential danger.
Sue Zieman and Goldilocks
A Life Retriever
Not only does Sue Zieman’s golden retriever, Goldilocks, seem to sense when and where Zieman’s rheumatoid arthritis is going to flare up (“She licks [all the joints] intensely before they turn red, hot, swollen and sore,” Zieman says), but once she also saved her human’s life.
Zieman was napping at her beach cottage when “Goldie” started barking incessantly. Groggy, Zieman ignored her, thinking the dog was just anxious to go down to the water and play. But Goldilocks wouldn’t stop. Eventually, she grabbed Zieman’s foot, which was dangling off the end of the bed, and gave it a tug.
“When I opened my eyes, the house was filled with smoke,” Zieman says. A rusted gas line and tank had caused a gas leak, and the back of the house was on fire. They ran to safety.
“Thankfully, five local fire departments, most volunteer, were able to save my house and prevent the propane tank from exploding and wiping out my neighbors’ houses as well (not to mention us)!” Zieman writes. “And, yes, I definitely let her play with her pup pals in the water as much as she’s wanted to after that.”
A Life Retriever
Not only does Sue Zieman’s golden retriever, Goldilocks, seem to sense when and where Zieman’s rheumatoid arthritis is going to flare up (“She licks [all the joints] intensely before they turn red, hot, swollen and sore,” Zieman says), but once she also saved her human’s life.
Zieman was napping at her beach cottage when “Goldie” started barking incessantly. Groggy, Zieman ignored her, thinking the dog was just anxious to go down to the water and play. But Goldilocks wouldn’t stop. Eventually, she grabbed Zieman’s foot, which was dangling off the end of the bed, and gave it a tug.
“When I opened my eyes, the house was filled with smoke,” Zieman says. A rusted gas line and tank had caused a gas leak, and the back of the house was on fire. They ran to safety.
“Thankfully, five local fire departments, most volunteer, were able to save my house and prevent the propane tank from exploding and wiping out my neighbors’ houses as well (not to mention us)!” Zieman writes. “And, yes, I definitely let her play with her pup pals in the water as much as she’s wanted to after that.”
Zieman’s life-saving golden retriever
For many, a house isn’t really a home without their beloved pet. And for the lucky humans who shared their stories with us, or will share their stories with the nation at the Hero Dog Awards, their animals have gone above and beyond to keep them safe, happy and healthy at home.
“Some display the most obvious qualities of heroism, apprehending criminals or risking their lives to detect enemy explosives; others work more quietly in ways that are no less powerful in improving and even saving lives, detecting subtle changes in a diabetic’s blood sugar, allowing a differently abled person to live a fuller life or providing a sympathetic paw at difficult times in life when we need a friend and understanding,” says Mark Stubis, American Humane’s chief communications officer. “The only common denominator is their naturally deep attachment to people, as well as the ability to ‘read’ our needs and emotions and come to our aid when it’s called for.”
The 2018 Hero Dog Awards will take place on Sept. 29 in Beverly Hills, California. The event will also be broadcast on Hallmark Channel on Oct. 24.
Tell us: Has a hero pet saved you at home? Tell us about it in the Comments.
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For many, a house isn’t really a home without their beloved pet. And for the lucky humans who shared their stories with us, or will share their stories with the nation at the Hero Dog Awards, their animals have gone above and beyond to keep them safe, happy and healthy at home.
“Some display the most obvious qualities of heroism, apprehending criminals or risking their lives to detect enemy explosives; others work more quietly in ways that are no less powerful in improving and even saving lives, detecting subtle changes in a diabetic’s blood sugar, allowing a differently abled person to live a fuller life or providing a sympathetic paw at difficult times in life when we need a friend and understanding,” says Mark Stubis, American Humane’s chief communications officer. “The only common denominator is their naturally deep attachment to people, as well as the ability to ‘read’ our needs and emotions and come to our aid when it’s called for.”
The 2018 Hero Dog Awards will take place on Sept. 29 in Beverly Hills, California. The event will also be broadcast on Hallmark Channel on Oct. 24.
Tell us: Has a hero pet saved you at home? Tell us about it in the Comments.
More
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Doing the laundry was just one of the things Holly Bonner had to relearn after a battle with breast cancer cost her her eyesight at age 32. But Frances, Bonner’s yellow Lab, has made things a lot easier for the New York social worker, blogger and mom of two.
“My laundry is in the basement, and Frances guides me down the stairs for every single load, then patiently waits for me by the machine to guide me back up the stairs,” Bonner says. “She steadies me, and her support has prevented many trips and falls while balancing a laundry basket on my hip.”
Guiding Eyes for the Blind matched Bonner with Frances in fall 2016, and on Sept. 29, the pair will be among seven finalists honored at animal welfare nonprofit American Humane’s annual Hero Dog Awards ceremony in California. The event will be a national occasion to shine a spotlight on what so many pet lovers already know: Dogs, cats and other furry and feathered friends can be heroes in their humans’ eyes, whether they’re sniffing out an explosive device in Afghanistan, leading a search party to a missing teen (actions taken by two of this year’s other Hero Dog nominees) or protecting their loved ones at home.
“Since Frances has come into my life, I feel like I have really found my motherhood groove,” Bonner says. “Not only does she get me where I need to be as I try to navigate my community with two daughters in tow, but it’s nice having a fuzzy face and a wet nose nudge you when you’re feeling frazzled with day-to-day stressors.”
In honor of this month’s celebration of four-legged heroes like Frances, we’re sharing a few of our favorite stories of pets who’ve come to the rescue for Houzz users. We asked members of the Houzz community in July for their accounts of pets who’ve saved the day at home. What we heard proved there are heroic pets everywhere, and even if they’re not honored at this month’s event, they at least deserve a lot of treats and a good belly rub.