Dog Calls 911 to Help Sick Owner

Joe Stalnaker’s German shepherd, Buddy, seems like the kind of dog you’d love to have around whenever emergency strikes. This intelligent service dog is trained to help his owner in all sorts of ways - including calling 911 when Stalnaker has an accident.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on September 15 2008

You may think your dog is pretty smart. He can sit, stand, turn in a circle, and bark on command whenever you offer him a tasty treat. But what would he do if you had an accident? Would he just sit there licking you and looking sad - or would he actually do something to help you out?

Due to a head injury sustained nearly a decade ago, Stalnaker has frequent seizures that often require medical attention. Now that Buddy’s in his life, he never has to worry that he won’t be able to get the help he needs: Buddy was trained to press buttons on the phone to dial emergency assistance, and will bark and whine to the operator to show that his owner is in trouble. Since Stalnaker’s had Buddy around, the dog’s skills have certainly come in handy: he’s sought emergency help for Stalnaker three times during seizures.

““It’s pretty incredible,” Mark Clark, a police seargent in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Stalnaker and Buddy live, told ABC News. “Even the veteran dispatchers — they haven’t heard of anything like this.”

We’ve got to think even Lassie would be impressed.

Filed under: Animals and Pets, General Interest,

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