Golden Retriever saves teen from snake bite
Tehachapinews.com, October 12, 2011

Nicholas Caudillo with Rickstar, the family pet that saved         him from a Northern Pacific Rattler.

Rockstar is a hero.

On Tuesday, Sept. 27, the young Golden Retriever caught a rattlesnake in mid strike to save Nicholas Caudillo, the 16-year-old son of Jennifer and Robert Schetter from the snake’s bite.

Nicholas and his brother Ian Schetter were playing on their bicycles in their driveway when the 42-inch Northern Pacific Rattler lunged at Nicholas.

The dog grabbed the snake by the head, but the snake was able to get away to a protective area. Rockstar moved in for the kill, but was bit on the face for his efforts.

Nicholas then disposed of the snake with farm implements.

Rockstar is not only the family’s best friend, but now he is hero. The dog was treated immediately at Tehachapi Veterinary Hospital with great success. He has recovered and is doing very well due to their expert efforts.

The family wishes to thank the staff there for their compassion and professionalism. They also expressed thanks to Johnette Latone who was caring for their son Christian at the time of the attack.

If it wasn’t for her quick action to get Rockstar to the veterinary hospital, the outcome would have been completely different, Jennifer Schetter said.

“We have now realized how expensive treatment is for rattlesnake bites and it takes my breath away when I think about what would have happened if I didn’t have the money to treat our family member,” she said.

“I can’t help but wonder how many beloved pets couldn’t be treated because of cost. Our family plans to discuss this matter further with Tehachapi Veterinary Hospital to see if donations can be made to help families that are found in this situation.”

http://www.tehachapinews.com/news/local/x1639388016/Golden-Retriever-saves-teen-from-snake-bite

TOP
 

Dog saves man paralyzed in biking accident
By Jim Bergamo, KVUE NEWS (khou.com), December 7, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas -- This story sounds like something out of a movie: A freak accident leaves a cyclist unable to move, so his dog takes over.

Five weeks ago, on Oct. 30, Paul Horton set out for his morning bike ride. As always, his dog, Yogi, went along for the run. However, this ride would end like no other and offer proof why dog is "man's best friend."

Paul Horton, 57, wound up at St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital after he failed to negotiate a seemingly little jump from the trail to a paved road near Lake Travis.

"I had probably done that 100 times, 200 times," said Horton.

But on the morning of Oct. 30, he did not.

"I went over the handle bars and landed on my head on the concrete ... and life changed," said Horton.

Life changed because he was now paralyzed from the chest down. Horton lay motionless for 45 minutes. With no one in sight, he realized his 4-year-old golden retriever was still by his side.

"I expected him to behave like Lassie and run down to the police station and tap out my location in Morse code or something," said Horton.

Yogi did not do that, but did something just about as impressive. Horton's neighbor, Bruce Tate, recalls walking down Mountain Trail with his wife when they were met by Yogi.

"Yogi is a quiet, happy dog, he's never noisy at all, but he was barking furiously to get our attention," said Tate.

The Tates followed Yogi throughout the wooded area and down the hill. When they saw Horton, they called 911. To this day, the Tates wonder what would have happened if Yogi had not interrupted their walk.

"I don't think we would have seen Paul without Yogi," he said. "I think Yogi saved his life."

"For somebody who cannot move and cannot ask for help, you can develop a pressure ulcer, you develop an infection, a clot, and you can die if you are not rescued soon," said Dr. Juan Latoree, the Medical Director of St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital. "So I think the dog was critical."

"He is my hero, I mean he is my hero. It is possible that if he had not done what he did, they might have walked right on by and gone down the road and there is no telling when somebody else would have come by," said Horton.

Horton has some movement in his arms, hands, and upper body. His rehab specialist says in just a month he has made the kind of progress it takes some patients a year to achieve.

Horton and his wife Sharon are extremely grateful to St. David's, their friends and neighbors, and most of all, to Yogi.

http://www.khou.com/news/Dog-saves-man-paralyzed-in-biking-accident-111453219.html

Winners of the Fourth Annual Dogs of Valor Awards
The Humane Society of the United States, March 13, 2011

Valor Dog of the Year and People's Hero
Yogi
Owner: Paul Horton, Austin, TX

Paul Horton and his 4-year-old golden retriever, Yogi, set out to exercise—Horton biked while Yogi trotted beside him. While on a mountain trail a few blocks from home, Horton hit a bump, flipped over the handlebars and landed on his head. He was paralyzed.

For the next 45 minutes, Yogi refused to leave. When Horton told Yogi to go home, he instead went to the top of the hill where the trail met the road and barked furiously. When Horton’s neighbors took their dog for a walk nearby, they were drawn by Yogi’s barking and out-of-character agitation. Once they drew closer, Yogi ran down the hill, leading them to where Horton lay. Once they reached Horton, Yogi stood sentry.

Even when the paramedics arrived, Yogi refused to leave Horton’s side. After surgery and countless tests, Horton found out he had broken a vertebra and was paralyzed from the chest down. But without quick treatment, his injury would have been even worse. Horton is still receiving treatment, but each time he returns home from the hospital, Yogi stays glued to his side.

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news/2011/03/fourth_annual_dogs_of_valor_winners.html

TOP
 

Pet retriever defends boy, 11, against cougar attack
By Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail, January 3, 2010

Please note: In order to hear the broadcast on the right, click on the sound icon. Then, move the volume bar up in order to hear the report. The sound cannot be heard unless this is done.

Last week, when Angel was frolicking in the snow, family members called her a "snow angel," Mrs. Forman said. "Now, she's our guardian angel." In a seemingly prophetic move, Angel had been following Austin around prior to the attack. "She must've known something was up," the boy's mother said.

Angel during happier times

A B.C. family's pet dog is being credited with prevented a potentially deadly attack on a child in the community of Boston Bar

Austin Forman was hauling firewood in his backyard on the weekend – one of the 11-year-old's weekly chores – when his golden retriever, Angel, began acting strange.

“He thought that was kind of cool, she was following him around,” the boy's father, Jay Forman, recalled Sunday from his home in Boston Bar, B.C., a rural community about 200 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

“Angel is a year-and-a-half old, she's like a teenager that has been drinking Starbucks coffee for a week straight, nothing slows her down and she only listens to you about half the time.”

It was already dark on Saturday evening and Austin had little time to react when he discovered the reason for Angel's strange behaviour. The boy spotted what he first thought was a strange dog emerge from the shadows. Just two metres away, the cat charged at him.

Angel the golden retriever is shown after a battle with a cougar in Boston Bar, B.C.

“He was like: Aw, crap, it's a cougar.”

But Angel was ready – the young dog leapt at the hungry cougar and “took the whack,” Mr. Forman said. The boy escaped inside his home while the two animals battled for several minutes.

“The cougar was latched onto her head, you could hear both the dog and the cougar screaming. Then it went silent.”

RCMP Constable Chad Gravelle was less than a minute away from the home when he got an emergency call about a cougar mauling and a child. In the small community, he knows the Forman kids and arrived fearing the worst.

“When I found it was the dog, I was relieved,” he said.

He stepped into the backyard and saw that the cougar, a young, skinny female, had dragged Angel under the porch. “I could see the cougar was chewing on the dog's jugular, I took a shot at the cougar's hind end,” he said. “They were all tangled up together and I don't want to hit the dog,” He climbed down and got close enough to put a killing shot through the cougar's head.

“We brought it out on the snow, the dog was laying there lifeless,” he said. As the family gathered, consoling Austin, the dog suddenly sprang up. “She coughed a bit of blood, she started wagging her tail, snuggled up to Austin and licked him.”

The Formans' home is just off the Trans-Canada Highway, but the neighbourhood is sparsely populated and the cougar wouldn't have to wander far from the wilderness to find their backyard.

	An RCMP officer shot the cougar dead. Jan. 3, 2010. (RCMP handout)

Mr. Forman, who was initially reluctant to adopt the formerly apartment-bound dog last year, now can't say enough about the pooch. “My son was saved by Angel.”

As the youngest of five siblings, Austin has been closer to the dog than any other member of the family. “They kind of bonded because they are both hyper,” his dad explained.

His son is shaken but unhurt, and Angel is expected to recover.

“She is doing pretty good, she has a bunch of puncture wounds in the head, the neck and the thigh. But there's nothing missing. It's pretty amazing.”

Angel has been sent to recover with a friend who raises dogs. “What do we do? It's an hour's drive to a vet.”

As for Austin, he won't be allowed to dawdle over his chores any more, his father said.

“I think the firewood is going to have to be done in the daylight, now that we know there are strange things lurking in the dark.”


January 5, 2009 Update
Angel had more more injuries than first believed, as these Goldens seem to demonstrate a quite high tolerance to pain. Her updated medical status is provided in the Today Show update.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/golden-retriever-fends-off-cougar-to-save-11-year-old-boy/article1417487/
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Retriever+saves+year+from+cougar+attack+Boston/2401815/story.html