5 Amazing Stories To Prove That Grandma Needs A Dog

Pets can provide even more than unconditional love care for their owners.

Dogs are said to be “man’s best friend” for a reason. They’re amazing creatures that not only offer unconditional love and support, but can also help detect illness and sense when something is not right with their owner (like an oncoming seizure). Sit back and prepare to have your heart melted, with these five amazing stories.
1. Lost Dog Saves Down’s Syndrome Patient

Odie was found wandering the streets near an elementary school. The woman who found him asked her neighbor to watch over the dog, until they could track down it’s owner by posting up Lost Dog flyers all over town.

The neighbor, Yolanda, had two sons living with her. Azaiah her youngest son was 10 years old. She also took care of her other son Christian, 21 years old, who suffered from Down’s Syndrome and other ailments.

A few days later, they hadn’t had any luck in tracking down Odie’s owner. Later that afternoon, Odie was barking frantically when Yolanda had returned home from work. He ran into the boys’ room alerting her to the fact that Christian was having a seizure.

Doctors say that had Odie not been there, the seizure could have had much more serious complications and Christian may even have died. You can get more details about the story here.
2. Faithful Dog Refuses To Leave Owner’s Side

Capitan, a German Shepard mix dog’s, love for his owner never ceased. Even after his owner passed away.

Miguel Guzman passed away in 2006. Shortly after his passing, the family dog, Capitan, went missing. When the family went to visit Miguel’s grave the following Sunday, they were greeted with the surprise of their life: Capitan was at the cemetery standing by his owner’s grave.

Every day since, Capitan has visited his owner’s grave at 6pm on the dot. This story goes to show just how loyal dogs really are to their owners. It’s hard to imagine how much Capitan adores his owner. Read Capitan’s full story here.
3. Police Dog Locates Last Survivor of 9/11 Attacks

Trakr and his trainer at Ground Zero.

Trakr, a German Shepard, was trained as a police dog in Nova Scotia. His trainer brought him to New York City following the September 11 attacks to help find any victims trapped beneath the rubble. He is credited with finding the last remaining survivor of the attacks.

Eventually, Trackr’s DNA was used for cloning, and there are now 5 cloned Trakrs. Find out what happened to Trackr here.
4. Stubby The Soldier Dog Aides Americans In WWI Efforts

Stubby was a stray dog who found his way into the WWI Yankee Division near Yale University. He developed many special abilities, like being able to sniff out gas.

He helped save soldiers from sleeping through a gas attack. He also held off a German enemy that entered Allied trenches by biting him in the leg, effectively keeping him at bay until the American soldiers arrived.

Stubby ended up serving in many battles throughout WWI and earned many medals of honor. You can read more about Stubby in The State of Connecticut’s website.
5. Togo The Sled Dog Saves Alaskan Village of Nome

In 1925, the Alaskan Village of Nome experienced an outbreak of Diphtheria, a highly contagious respiratory illness. The village was deadly low on the antitoxin that was needed to treat the disease.

The only way to access the village in the wintertime was by the Iditarod Trail. The primary source of supplies and mail was the dog sled. Eventually, the decision was made to have sled dogs run the medicine over to the residents of Nome.

Most think of Balto as the famous sled dog in this story, but he only led the last leg of the race. Leading the way was Togo, an older Husky. His journey was the most treacherous of all the sled dogs. He fearlessly ran over 200 miles through whiteout storms, and even swam through ice, on his journey to Nome. You can read more about Togo here.

In sum, these dogs are everyday heroes. Dogs can provide many, many benefits to their owners. This is particularly true of senior dog owners. To learn more, be sure to check out our post on health benefits pets provide for seniors, as well as our cute and cuddly pets infographic.