We’ve all heard remarkable stories of animals saving human lives. Most of them are pets while some of them involve animals that had no connection to the victim. This just goes to show that animals sense danger and can be and are willing to be protective of lives other than theirs. They are not as dumb or unintelligent as we perceive them to be. When taken into our homes as pets, these animals are given love and care and they slowly learn to give back that though love, loyalty and protection.
We as humans have quite the unique relationship with animals. We are very dissimilar but we unite through the common need for love and connection. Even though we humans consider animals to be inferior as they lack intelligence and understanding, they have often surprised us by showing how loving and caring they can be.
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Yes and no, in many cases stray animals have shown how they can be more protective than domesticated ones. There have been many instances where children have fallen into zoo enclosures and the animals in there did not harm but protected the child from danger. But in the larger picture, yes, in most cases domestic pets that have been shown love and compassion are more likely to risk their lives to save their owners.
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It has been known that some animals are ready to help other animals. Animals such as dolphins are known to help weaker animals or those animals in need. Many animals see children as helpless and when in danger are ready to spring into action to save them.
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Endal was a Labrador Retriever who was assigned as the service dog for a retired Navy Chief by the name of Petty Officer Allen Parton in the late 1990s. The ex-Royal Navy Chief had suffered serious head injuries which caused him to have memory loss. This memory loss caused him to forget anything after two days. Endal just like his own had his own problems, suffering from unbearable joint ache in his front legs left many wondering if he was even able enough to serve as a service dog. Endal was highly intelligent and used his intelligence to prove his worth.
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Endal was able to learn sign language and was able to retrieve the important things Parton wanted. Endal even learned how to use an ATM card and helped Parton while shopping. The incident in question happened when Parton was knocked out of his wheelchair and Endal barked till help came. Endal’s act of bravery won him the “Dog of the Millennium” award as well as several others.
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Gary Rosheisen who lived in Columbus, Ohio was suffering from osteoporosis as well as was a victim of mini-strokes. In 2006 he suffered from a seizure while in his bedroom and fell down. He didn’t have his medical alert necklace on and was unable to anyone including the paramedics. Lucky for him his cat Tommy was trained to dial 911 on the telephone. Tommy was able to call the authorities and when they heard the call was silent and no one picked up when they called, they sent officer’s to Gary’s residence.
The first incident took place in 1941 during the bomb drops over London by German soldiers. These bombs were incendiary and had a fuse. When one of these landed in Juliana’s master’s house, the quick thinking Great Dane urinated on it and was able to diffuse it. The second took place in 1944 when she was able to warn her master and the entire family about the fire in the shop they owned. For her acts, she received the Blue Cross Medal on both occasions.
Originally born in Switzerland and later sold to the Columbus Zoo in the year 1950 Jambo was your average gorilla. Being raised in captivity he had travelled to many zoos and was a good attraction. On the 31st of August 1986, Jambo showed how unique he was by saving the life of 5-year-old Levan Merritt.
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The incident took place at the Jersey Zoo in Trinity when Levan had fallen into the gorilla enclosure. Showing how mature he was, Jambo stroked the little boy’s back while making sure none of the other gorillas get too close to harm him.
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Lily was a pit bull that was rescued by Christine Spain’s son. He gave Lily to his mother hoping the little dog might help her overcome her alcoholism. One night around midnight at the railway stop in Shirley, Massachusetts, Christine went unconscious right there on the rail tracks.
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While Christine was down, Lily tried to pull her to safety as she saw a freight train was headed their way. When the driver saw this he stopped the train but unfortunately for Lily it wasn’t fast enough. The worst injury Lily suffered was her right leg needed to be amputated.
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George was a lovable Jack Russell Terrier living in New Zealand. In 2207 he was playing with 5 kids, among the ages of 3 to 15. On their way back from a shop the kids were confronted by two aggressive pit bulls. Sensing danger George rushed to protect the kids. Unfortunately, the vicious dogs were too much for George to handle and he suffered injuries so severe that his owner, Allan Gay had to have him euthanized.
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When this act of bravery was televised, the New Zealand Society for the Protection of Animals presented Allan with a medal of bravery for George. The two pit bulls that were responsible for George’s unforgiving fate were euthanized by the dog control office.
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On October 30, Rob Howes who was a lifeguard along with his daughter Niccy and her friends Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming in the waters of Ocean Beach in New Zealand. When Rob and Helen went about 20 meters away from the others, they saw, swimming directly towards them was a bottlenose dolphin. Before reaching them the dolphin took a dive and went underwater.
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Soon they saw a few more dolphins join in and brought all four of them together and started circling around them. Not knowing what was going on they had to wait there for 40 minutes till a lifeguard patrolling rescue boat showed up. On seeing the strange dolphin behavior they investigated only to find out the dolphins were protecting the humans from a three meter long Great White shark.
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Yang Yun had participated in a freediving competition in which she had to dive to the bottom of an arctic pool which was about 20 feet deep in northeast China. She had to do this and also remain there without any underwater breathing equipment.
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She suffered a series of crippling cramps as the low temperatures started to choke her. She felt her legs going numb and unable to move. Just then a Beluga whale named Mila sensed the life-threatening trouble Yang was in and came to her rescue. Taking her by the leg, the whale pushed her towards the surface of the water where Yang could finally breathe at last and be rescued.
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When the pigeon fanciers of Britain donated carrier pigeons to the US Army Signal Corps during WWI while they were in France, among the pigeons was Cher Ami. On October 3rd, 1918, the American Army officer, Major Charles White Whittlesey found himself and his entire battalion trapped within enemy lines and without any food. The next day he saw that only 194 of his men were still alive and he had no runners left to send messages.
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Having no other option Whittlesey sent two pigeons, both of which were shot down by Germans. Cher Ami was among them and the last one to take flight. After taking flight she too was spotted and shot by Germans but she was able to take flight once again and reached headquarters which was 25 miles away in about 25 minutes.
Because of her, all the men of that battalion were saved. Cher was treated by the army paramedics. One leg had to be amputated as it was hanging on by a tendon. For her service to the army, she received the Croix de Guerre Medal.
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When JoAnn Altsman of Pennsylvania suffered a heart attack while her husband was away, there was no one to help her. Her pot-bellied pig broke through the backyard and went into traffic.
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Once on the main road, the bleeding pig just sat on the middle of the road and waited for a car to stop. While most drivers just went beside her one driver saw the bleeding pig and stopped. When the driver came to investigate JoAnn yelled out and the driver called for an ambulance.
After this incident, Lulu became quite the celebrity. Lulu was invited to the Late Show With David Letterman an got to meet George Clooney.
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