Incredible Dogs

[Chris45]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/dog-given-medal-after-canine-cpr-20091028-hjx7.html

A central Queensland dog which jumped up and down on its owner's chest after the man suffered a massive heart attack may have saved his life.

Teka the three-year-old Australian cattle dog has been given the RSPCA's animal achievement award following the 2007 feat at a glass factory near Bundaberg.

Owner Jim Touzeau's heart stopped and he collapsed unconscious on the factory floor when Teka climbed onto his chest and began to jump repeatedly with all four paws.

The dog also barked in his face, rousing him enough to raise the alarm with his son.

She also ran outside and barked to attract attention.

Medical experts have been unable to say whether the canine CPR had any medical impact but say Mr Touzeau would not be alive today if not for Teka's efforts.

"I don't know if she actually kick-started my heart. But the doctors said that if I hadn't come to and called for help the chances are I would be dead," Mr Touzeau said.

"My heart had definitely stopped."

I remember hearing a report a while ago about a man suffering a stroke and lying paralyzed on the floor and his dog kept him alive by getting a piece of clothing, soaking it in the toilet bowl and laying the wet cloth on his mouth so he could suck the moisture from it. The dog stayed with him and repeated this behavior until help arrived.

Also, a few years ago, there was a story of a dog alerting its owner to the presence of a cancer by constantly licking a skin lesion on her leg and another about a dog that alerted his female owner to a malignant tumor by sniffing his owner’s breath and rubbing against her right breast.

Dogs are truly amazing animals and if we could converse with them I’m sure we would be very impressed with their intelligence which is why I wish the laws against cruelty to animals, and dogs in particular, were at least as strong as the laws against cruelty to children. I wonder if others agree?

 

[skc]

For anyone living in Sydney, the World Dogs Games is in town... what these dogs can do is truely amazing. Animal cruelty or highlighting their talents and skills? You be the judge.

http://www.worlddoggames.com.au/


My other favourite dog story...

In 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life Hachikō saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.

Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he did not see his friend among the commuters at the station.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for 10 years, with Hachikō appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachikō

 

[overit]

Dogs are great... Remember this one.

Footage from a traffic camera overlooking a busy freeway in Santiago, Chile captured a dog performing a heroic act ”” pulling an injured friend from oncoming traffic.

The video shows an injured dog lying in the middle of a freeway after being hit by a car, while a rescue dog dodges traffic to run to its side. The rescue dog then drags the severely injured canine across lanes of traffic as cars swerve around it.

No motorists stopped to help either dog, but a highway crew arrives at the end of the video.

 

[Sir Osisofliver]

I thought you were talking about stocks for a second there

Cheers

Sir O

 

[skc]

I thought you were talking about stocks for a second there

Cheers

Sir O

LOL. The BNB and related breeds come to mind.

 

[nomore4s]

When I was about 4 we had a golden retriever named McKenzie and we used to live in a flat on top of Dad's workshop.

Anyway after work one day Dad and his crew were having beers in the workshop and Mum was cooking in the flat. She left dinner cooking and went down to the workshop for some reason and got sidetracked and forgot about dinner cooking on the stove. Of course it caught fire and half the kitchen lit up, McKenzie then goes down to the workshop and drags Dad up to the flat by his hand and saves the rest of the flat & the flat next to it from burning down.

Don't call them mans best friends for nothing.

 

[Julia]

Great stories. Thanks to all of you for posting these. I think my passion for dogs and animals in general is pretty well known on this forum.

People who have never had dogs don't understand the level of the bond that can exist between dog and owner. The empathy and sense of connection is often beyond that experienced with other human beings.

Ever since my first German Shepherd literally saved my life, I've been a devotee of the breed, though I'm sure some other breeds would demonstrate the same quick thought and protectiveness.

And I agree absolutely about tougher penalties for animal cruelty. This cowardly behaviour is imo way worse than violence towards people in that animals are usually much more defenceless. Nothing sickens me more than any form of cruelty to any animal. And I'm also disgusted by people who acquire a dog as a so called guard dog, then leave the poor creature tied up with no exercise or mental stimulation. What a hell of an existence for the poor creature. Or even people who fail to train their dogs and then refuse to take them out because they're unmanageable on a lead.
Grrr!

 

[Old Mate]

Skc, that story literally brought a tear to my eye. It reminds me of that episode of Futurama with the dog that keeps waiting for Fry until his death. So sad.

I love dogs and all animals and agree with everything Julia said. If it were up to me people who torture helpless animals just for their amusement would be executed. Seriously. I don't think you can get any lower, any more cowardly, any more sadistic than getting kicks out of hurting a helpless creature. These people don't deserve to live in my opinion.

 

[skc]

Skc, that story literally brought a tear to my eye. It reminds me of that episode of Futurama with the dog that keeps waiting for Fry until his death. So sad.

I love dogs and all animals and agree with everything Julia said. If it were up to me people who torture helpless animals just for their amusement would be executed. Seriously. I don't think you can get any lower, any more cowardly, any more sadistic than getting kicks out of hurting a helpless creature. These people don't deserve to live in my opinion.

Yes.. that was what the futurama story was based on. Episode name is "Jurassic Bark".

 

[Old Mate]

Oh really, I didn't know it was based on that story. Interesting

 

[Fishbulb]

Big fat bbq'd chorizo, with french mustard and sauerkraut on a crusty wholemeal roll. That's an incredible dog

 

[Mr J]

Don't call them mans best friends for nothing.

Any dog of mine is my best mate.

 

[BradK]

Ever since my first German Shepherd literally saved my life, I've been a devotee of the breed, though I'm sure some other breeds would demonstrate the same quick thought and protectiveness.

Can you share the circumstances of this?

Brad

 

[Chris45]

That's One Clever Dog! How could anyone refuse him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE0vnRbf0H4&feature=player_embedded

 

[Julia]

Thanks Chris. Very cute.
A friend of mine trained her Shepherd to- when she made a sneezing noise - go and get a box of tissues, place it at her feet, then at her instruction, gently pull out a single tissue with her mouth and hold it up to her owner.

 

[skc]

An explosives detection dog that spent more than a year missing in action in Afghanistan has received the RSPCA's purple cross award at the Australian War Memorial.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/05/3182594.htm

When I read the story I thought it was both funny and slightly wrong that the army would be dishing out medals for dogs... Not that the dog didn't do a great job but it really serves no purpose. It won't inspire bravery from other dogs, and it might annoy other human soldiers.

It turns out that the award is presented by RSPCA so fair enough. Great story about man and dog...

 

[Chris45]

Thanks Chris. Very cute.
A friend of mine trained her Shepherd to- when she made a sneezing noise - go and get a box of tissues, place it at her feet, then at her instruction, gently pull out a single tissue with her mouth and hold it up to her owner.

Now THAT is brilliant!!!

The things that dogs can be taught to do never ceases to amaze me. And they can reason too! I wonder if you saw the item about "Chaser" on ABC1 recently (or was it SBS?). This report from US ABC:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wo...special-shows-border-collie/story?id=12875750

Six-year-old female border collie Chaser has been trained by her owner to understand more than 1,000 words, along with simple sentences.

Tyson also brought along a new toy -- a doll named "Darwin" -- which Chaser had never seen before. When he asked her to find it in the other room, Chaser could locate the doll amid the other toys, inferring that the new object was connected with the new word.

skc, I thought the same when I saw that report. However, I hope it serves to make more people aware of how important and valuable dogs are so that they will be more alert to cases of mistreatment and cruelty of, not only dogs, but all animals.

 

[JTLP]

Love this one!

 

[DB008]

LOL

Hot dog anyone...?

 

[Julia]

Love this one!

At the end did the Beagle actually jump from that height to the ground? I was holding my breath hoping not - just too far.

Dogs can teach us far more than we can teach them imo. I wish I could approach every day with the joy and optimism that my dog unfailing does. They have such an enviable capacity to live in the moment and enjoy every second of it.