12 Animals That Saved Human Lives

How many times have you turned on the news and heard a heartrending story about how an animal was saved by some caring  individual?  Well, how about an ANIMAL saving a HUMAN?  Well amazingly it has happened and as these twelve stories prove, the animal-human bond can never be broken.

Oreo the Cat  Saved Family From House Fire

Dianne Busscher was awakened at 4:45 am by the scary screeches of her black-and white cat, Oreo. Dianne followed Oreo to the garage, where flames and smoke were engulfing the family station wagon. Dianne, with Oreo now held tight in her arms, managed to wake up her husband and their five children and lead them to safety.  The fire destroyed the garage and a bedroom. None of the family was harmed thanks to the cat’s cries. As an interesting side note, none of the family had been too fond of the cat before this incident; however, Jesse Busscher claimed “We love it now. This thing is getting some tuna tonight!”

Dolphin Saved Teenager From Drowning

Back in 2000, non-swimmer Davide Ceci, 14, was within minutes of death when dolphin Filippo came to his rescue.  The friendly creature was a popular tourist attraction off Manfredonia in south-east Italy for two years.  But he became a local hero after saving Davide from the Adriatic when he fell from his father’s boat. While Emanuele Ceci was still unaware his son had fallen into the waves, Filippo was pushing him up out of the water to safety.
Davide said: “When I realised it was Filippo pushing me, I grabbed on to him.” The dolphin bore down on the boat and got close enough for Davide’s father to grab his gasping son. Davide’s mother Signora Ceci said: “It is a hero, it seems impossible an animal could have done something like that, to feel the instinct to save a human life.” Filippo has lived in the waters off Manfredonia since he became separated from a visiting school of dolphins.  Maritime researcher Dr Giovanna Barbieri said: “Filippo seems not to have the slightest fear of humans. I’m not surprised he should have done such a wonderful thing as to save a human.”

Penny the Dog Saves Woman From River

Brenda Owen had gone out for a quick walk with her dog when she spotted a wheelchair on the riverbank; she saw a woman floating in the river. She called out to her but there was no reply so she told her dog, Penny, to “Fetch! Fetch!” without hesitation the dog ran into the river, swam to the woman and pulled her to the shore. Brenda said that Penny has always been a very obedient dog and despite being ten-years old she was still very fit.

Arf the Dog Saves Boy From Snake

The grandmother of  a two-year old child who was playing in the garden, noticed that her dog Arf was becoming extremely agitated and began worrying for her grandson’s safety. After taking the child inside, the grandmother went to see what her dog was fussing about only to find Arf locked in mortal combat with a deadly coral snake! The grandmother was able to shoot and kill the snake and Arf was admitted to a veterinary hospital with numerous snake bites.

Watusi Calf Saves Woman From Snake

Janice Wolf, a cattle rancher, was in the back pasture of the refuge she operates in Arkansas when her eleven-month old Watusu calf suddenly turned and blocked her path. She couldn’t understand why it was doing this, so she took hold of its horns and tried pushing it, but it tossed its head and knocked her off balance. That’s when she spotted a copper-head snake on the ground exactly where her foot would have been had the Watusi calf not intervened. Copper-head venom usually isn’t fatal to adults however, it could well have been fatal to Janice because she had been extra sensitive to insect bites in the past and had just come out of the hospital for a lung operation.

Dolphins Save Surfer From Shark

Surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle.  The shark, estimated at twelve to fifteen feet long,  hit him first as Endris was sitting on his surfboard, but couldn’t get its monster jaws around both surfer and surfboard. “The second time, he came down and clamped on my torso — sandwiched my board and my torso in his mouth,” Endris said.  That attack shredded his back, literally peeling the skin back, he said, “like a banana peel.” But because Endris’ stomach was pressed to the surfboard, his intestines and internal organs were protected. The third time, the shark tried to swallow Endris’ right leg, and he said that was actually a good thing, because the shark’s grip anchored him while he kicked the beast in the head and snout with his left leg until it let go. The dolphins, which had been cavorting in the surf all along, showed up then. They circled him, keeping the shark at bay, and enabled Endris to get back on his board and catch a wave to the shore where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life.

LuLu the Pig Saves Woman After Heart Attack

JoAnn Altsman had a heart attack and collapsed to the ground. Lulu, her daughter’s pot-bellied pig, rushed out of the house, lying down in the street to stop traffic. The pig tried relentlessly to get help, returning to the house to check on JoAnn, only to rush back to the street desperate for help. Finally, one person stopped and followed the determined pig back to the house, where they found JoAnn in pain on the floor. She was immediately rushed to a hospital and JoAnn made a complete recovery. As a sidenote, Lulu did try to get into the ambulance with JoAnn, but the medics gently let Lulu know she had done enough for one day.

Gorilla Saves Boy From Being Attacked

On August 16 1996 in the Brookfield Zoo, a three-year old boy climbed the wall around the gorilla enclosure and fell eighteen feet onto the concrete below, rendering him unconscious. Binti Jua, a female Lowland Gorilla, walked to the boy’s side while helpless spectators screamed, certain that the gorilla would harm the child. Another larger female gorilla approached, and Binti growled. Binti then picked up the child, cradling him with her right arm as she did her own infant, gave him a few pats on the back, and carried him sixty feet to an access entrance, so that zoo personnel could retrieve him. During all this, Binti’s seventeen-month-old baby, Koola, clutched her back throughout the incident. The boy spent four days in the hospital and recovered fully.

Target the Dog Saves Fifty Soldiers From Suicide Bomber in Afghanistan

Target, was a stray dog in Afghanistan who befriended soldiers and was hailed as a hero after she chased away a suicide bomber who tried to blow up a military base last February. The suicide bomber had sneaked onto the base and was headed toward a barracks that housed nearly fifty soldiers when Target and two other dogs attacked him. The bomber eventually detonated himself, killing one of the dogs and severely injuring Target and another dog, Rufus. Five of the soldiers were injured, but survivors said that dozens of others would have been killed had the dogs not stopped the bomber. After they were nursed back to health, Target and Rufus were essentially adopted by the soldiers at the base and “treated like royalty.”  Target even made it to the Oprah show. Sadly however, Target’s story does not have a happy ending.  Though she was brought back to the U.S .and adopted by Sgt. Terry Young, Target was brought to a shelter after she slipped out of Young’s backyard and there she was accidentally euthanized.

Goat Feeds Farmer Milk, Keeps Him Warm for 5 Days

While doing his daily farm work, Farmer Noel Osborne was accidentally knocked into a pile of manure, shattering his hip. He was rendered immobile and stranded too far away for anyone to hear his calls for help. For five days, his goat Mandy huddled by his side keeping him warm, even throughout stormy, cold nights. Perhaps more remarkably, Mandy allowed Osborne to milk her for sustenance.

Horse Protects Owner From a Raging Cow

Rancher Fiona Boyd was leading a stray calf into a shed when the calf’s enraged mother suddenly charged her, knocked her down and proceeded to stampede over her. “I was absolutely terrified, and remember rolling up into a ball to protect my head from her hooves,” she recalled. That’s when Kerry, who was grazing nearby, immediately leaped to assist her. The horse bucked and kicked at the cow until it moved away, certainly saving Boyd from being trampled to death.

Elephant Saves a Girl From 2004 Tsunami

Eight-year-old Amber Mason was saved by a four-year-old elephant during the 2004 Thai tsunami. Just as the wave struck, the elephant took Amber on its back and ran for higher ground. As the wave crashed around them, the elephant even turned its back to the water, creating a protective wall from the impact. “If she had been on the beach on her own or with us on the beach, she would never have lived,” Amber’s mother recalled. “The elephant took the pounding of the wave.”