Dog Calls 911 To Save Owner’s Life
Posted September 15, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Do you love your dog? Joe Stalnaker figures he couldn’t live without his. But unlike you, he’s right. He might not be alive to tell you what happened to him if it wasn’t for his German Shepherd named Buddy.
The 18-month-old pooch was able to dial 911 when his owner had a seizure, bringing paramedics to his door and sending him to hospital.
The incident happened last Wednesday in Scottsdale, Arizona but Stalnaker is only now well enough to tell the story. When emergency operators answered the call last week, all they could hear was a dog barking and whimpering on the line, but no human voice.
“Hello, this is 911. Hello … Can you hear me?” asks dispatcher Chris Trott. “Is there somebody there you can give the phone to?” Operators always send help to an address that calls 911 in case the caller is unable to respond.
Three minutes later, the dispatcher can hear police forcing their way into the home and the dog barking furiously as they enter. They found Stalnaker lying unconscious on the floor, his faithful companion standing over him.
It turns out Buddy is an assistance dog, trained to take measures to help his master if he’s ever in trouble – and that includes teaching the animal how to dial 911.
How did he do it? “If I have a seizure he will grab the phone and try to bring it to me and I have all the phone numbers programmed so that as he bites down on it he dials the police department,” Stalnaker reveals.
Trott is equally astounded. “The entire room was amazed. Dispatchers that had been there for … 20-22 years had never had a call from a dog before!”
It’s not the first time Buddy has come to the rescue. It turns out he’s chewed his way through 911 twice before, after his best friend suffered similar problems.
Stalnaker developed seizures after sustaining a head injury during a military training incident 10 years ago. He adopted the specially trained dog when the animal was just 8 weeks old. He can barely express his love for his four footed pal who has saved him before.
“I just hope I can be as good to him as he’s been to me,” he agrees.
