Heros

[Polleo Pit Man]

Heroic Pit Bull: Dog Finds Help For Injured Neighbor


By Gus Thomson, Auburn Journal Staff Writer

Move over Lassie. A pit bull terrier has shown Auburn's Jim Roach that heroic dog deeds don't just happen in the movies or on TV.

Roach fell from a 12-foot-high ladder while picking peaches last month on his rural Mount Vernon Road property. Dazed and unable to move because of his injuries, he soon found renter Jeanne Davis' two-year-old pit bull Gabby hovering over him and
barking.

"I was unconscious pretty much," Roach said Tuesday. "I remember a dog licking the side of my face and standing by me and barking and barking and barking."

But nobody came. That's when Gabby did the heroically unexpected and went for help.

About 100 yards away and not able to see or hear Roach, Davis heard Gabby furiously barking and thought perhaps someone had entered the property. But Roach's dog, also nearby, wasn't barking.

Soon after she first noticed the barking, Gabby emerged.

"She's barking and then she looks at me and runs back," Davis said. "It's kind of like something Lassie would do."

So Davis followed Gabby. She found her landlord injured and moaning in pain near the pruning ladder.

"I walked over to where he was and Gabby stopped barking," Davis said.

With Roach immobilized on the ground, a California Highway Patrol helicopter was dispatched to transport the seriously injured college instructor to Roseville Medical Center's trauma unit for emergency treatment.

Roach, a College of San Mateo instructor, said doctors diagnosed multiple injuries from the fall, including a fractured clavicle, four broken ribs, two cracked vertebrae, and bleeding on the brain.

A towel wrapped around his head, Jason Williams-style, probably saved his life when his head hit the ground, Roach said.

Roach said he spent a week in hospital. One of the first visitors after discharge was Gabby. He said the two now seem to have formed a strong bond as a result of the rescue.

A psychology instructor, Roach said that the incident is a good example of the more endearing side of pit bulls that doesn't receive media attention.

"I've never felt they've been given a fair shake," he said. "They're just a terrier."

Davis said Gabby was abused before she adopted her. She's been training the dog to become less apprehensive around people.

"A lot of people said to put her down, that she's going to do something bad," Davis said. "I'm so proud of my dog."

[Polleo Pit Man]

Dog Credited With Saving Teen From Fire
From Associated Press
September 29, 2006 10:21 PM EDT
FORT MEYERS, Fla. - A pit bull who was recently adopted by a family after wondering onto a construction site may have saved a teen girl from a house fire on Friday.

Jerrica Seals, 17, was already safely out of the house by the time firefighters arrived, the News-Press? of Fort Meyers reported.

"She called me screaming," said Leticia Vega, 36, the sister of Seals' boyfriend Javier Garcia, 23, who owns the home. "She said the dog woke her up barking, jumped on the bed and bit her on the leg."

Seals was taken to the hospital for a checkup, but Garcia said she was going to be fine.

Deputy fire Chief Steve Clyatt said blaze appears to have been caused by a bad extension cord on a window air conditioner.

Vega said her oldest brother, Gabriel Garcia, found the dog while he was working.

"He didn't pay no mind to it," Vega said. "He just kept working and the dog just stayed there so he brought it home. He doesn't usually bark. He's real friendly."

[Polleo Pit Man]

Charming pit bull saves the day
(and Daisy the Yorkie)
By William Hageman
Tribune staff reporter
http://www.chicagotribune.com
Published February 19, 2006

They are the oddest couple: Traveler, a muscular 2-year-old pit bull, and
Daisy, a year-old Yorkie who looks as though she could be knocked over
by a sneeze.

Their bond: Traveler saved Daisy's life with a blood donation.

Daisy, who belongs to Abigail Lebron of Palos Hills, was dying from
autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

"It's its own body attacking its own blood cells," explained Dr. Derrick
Landini of the Animal Ark Veterinary Clinic in Chicago. "The cause of why
the dog got it is really unknown."

All Lebron knew was that Daisy was sick.

"She was lethargic, not eating or drinking," she said. "I took her to another
hospital, and they told us she needed a blood transfusion, but they couldn't
do it."

Then she found Animal Ark and Landini. And Traveler, who lives at the
clinic.
The Jan. 17 procedure was rather simple. Traveler was lightly sedated, the
IV was set up and Daisy received about 3 ounces of blood.
Daisy went home that night and now is good as new. Traveler was up and
about a half-hour after the procedure. Of course, a blood transfu-sion is
nothing compared with what he has been through. Traveler was in danger
of dying from a host of ailments after being rescued from post-Katrina
Mississippi by the Munster (Ind.) Humane Society. Charmed by the dog's
personal-ity but unable to treat him, the Munster people reached out to


Chicago Canine Rescue, which takes in animals that other facilities can't
treat or handle long term.
CCR brought Traveler to Animal Ark, where he was nursed back to robust
health. But what to do with the happy-go-lucky dog?
"We didn't have a home for him, and Dr. Lan-dini said he could stay here,"
said CCR executive director Lisa Tingley.
So Traveler became part of the clinic, running through the building, playing
with any dog he'd see, sleeping in a king-size bed and going to lunch with
staff members.
"We had someone who was interested in adopting him," said Tingley,
whose organiza-tion has about 70 dogs available at any time. "But that's
when Dr. Landini and the whole staff, they were like, 'What if he leaves . .
.?' "


So Landini adopted Traveler.
"We kept him for a simple reason," Landini said. "He's such a great dog.
He gets along with every dog, with every person. We've fostered a lot of
strays here, but he has been the best."
Daisy would agree.

[hermhater]

You spelled Heroes wrong!



Nice stories though.

It is owners, rather than dogs who usually cause the most harm.