6 Life Saving Animals and Their Heroic Deeds

1. Rusty Warns of Impending Heart Attack

When Claire Nelson adopted the 10-year old Rusty from the Humane Society, she thought that she was getting a pet and possibly saving its life. Never did she suspect that she was the one who needed saving. One day, Claire was feeling a bit under the weather. Without thinking much of it, she went to lie down in her bed. Rusty, usually of a calm demeanor, suddenly started jumping onto her and pawing and meowing loudly.

Rusty’s unusual behavior told Claire that something was definitely wrong. When she couldn’t find an immediate source of the problem aside from her own apparent discomfort, she decided to visit her doctor. While waiting at the bus station, Nelson’s condition worsened and she called 911 only to discover later that she was having a heart attack.

Nelson stated that she likely wouldn’t have survived the attack if she had remained by herself in her apartment and unaware of any impending danger until the attack had began. She credits Rusty with saving her life and stated, “The best thing I ever did was go to the Humane Society and adopt this cat.”

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3. Willie Saves Choking Toddler

5. Trackr Saves 9/11 Victims

It takes a special breed of dog to work in the aftermath of a disaster like 9/11 to find victims and save lives. Trackr has proved himself to be among the few animals heroic enough to protect and serve. For years, this trained police dog had worked to find over $1 million in contraband before he retired in 2001.

When the September 11 attacks left New York City in a state of chaos, Trackr came out retirement to search for survivors for two days following the attack. Having found the last found survivor beneath the rubble, Trakr collapsed from burns and smoke inhalation. Trackr was treated for his wounds but suffered permanent neurological damage.

After Trackr’s heroic feats, he was honored in an exceptional manner. The heroic pooch was entered into a contest to find a potential candidate for cloning. More than that, his heroic genetics were selected to propagate 100% heroic dogs via the process of cloning. In June of 2009, 5 clones of Trackr were born into the world.

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2. Zoey Saves Toddler from Rattlesnake

Some people think that Chihuahuas have a bark worse than their bite. However, one Chihuahua from Colorado put her money where her mouth was when she defended her owners’ grandson from a lunging rattlesnake.

While the one-year-old Booker was playing in a birdbath, Zoey noticed something slithering through the grass. The young dog was alert enough to find the nearby rattlesnake just before it gave off a warning rattle and its impending attack. Just as the snake lunged for Booker, Zoey jumped in front of the toddler to intercept the bite.

Zoey took the full brunt of the blow and allowed Booker to escape unscathed. Zoey’s owners were initially worried she would not survive as she was treated for the venomous bite for some time. Much to everyone’s pleasure, Zoey survived the ordeal and rejoined her family who had a newfound respect for their beloved pooch.

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4. Samantha Guides Her Owner to Safety

Samantha stumbled into the life of a disabled woman, Tia Jenkins when a disgruntled neighbor offered to give her Samantha after he had been bitten by the cat. Samantha was unsure if she should keep the cat at first, but the disabled woman who had been suffering from depression found solace and comfort in her newfound friend. Together, they lived with another pet turtle, Shelly, with Samantha’s boyfriend, Jason.

Samantha suffered from a variety of problems including limited vision and occasional seizures. She had to be very careful in her everyday life and often found herself relying on her cat to fetch her items and alert her of potential dangers. She also taught Samantha to retrieve help in the event that she suffered from a seizure. One night, she heard Samantha crying for her attention only to discover that her stove had caught fire.

Samantha quickly called 911 before realizing that the smoke had left her completely unable to see. She soon heard meowing which she followed to find, not Samantha, but her Shelly- whom got along with Samantha and needed to be rescued from her tank. After she retrieved Shelly, Samantha opened the front door and led Tia out of the building and to safety. Firefighters later told Tia that the fire alarm did not go off until the kitchen was in flames, indicating that without Samantha’s quick reaction and guidance, things might have turned out… catastrophic.

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6. Rabbit Faces Fire to Save Owners

Rabbit was just your typical rabbit with an unusually straightforward name, when he made international news with his tale of heroism. Rabbit lives in an open space where he is free to roam in and out of the house, like your typical cat or dog with a pet door. This makes Rabbit’s feats all the more valiant as it means in the face of impending danger, he was free to leave all on his own.

But in the summer of 2008, a blaze broke out in the home of his owner’s Gerry and Michelle Finn. Rather than bolt out the door and save himself, Rabbit faced smoke and flames to rouse the sleeping couple before departing. Rabbit hopped upon his owner’s chest and pawed at him until the couple realized that the house was on fire. Gerry and Michelle quickly ran to get their daughter and flee the burning house.

Rabbit braved more than half an hour of smoke and heat in order to wake his owners. According to the Metropolitan Fire Brigade commander that came to their aid, “Definitely the rabbit saved them. The heat was intense and so was the smoke. If there had been much more delay they might not have got out.”

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