Dog saves 11-year-old boy from cougar attack
When a hungry cougar came calling, an 11-year-old boy named Austin Forman had Angel on his side.
It happened on a dark Sunday evening in British Columbia, Canada, when Austin went outside to collect wood for his family's wood-burning
furnace. He noticed that Angel, his happy-go-lucky golden retriever, was acting much more cautious and guarded than usual. Within moments, a cougar tried to pounce on Austin from less than 10 feet away. Angel jumped directly into the big cat's path and bore the brunt of the attack instead.
"She was my best friend, but now she's even greater to me. She's more than a best friend now," Austin said after the attack, which almost certainly would have killed Angel if a local police constable hadn't managed to shoot the cougar.
The 18-month-old dog had surgery to
repair extensive injuries to her head. "I was just lucky my dog was there, because it happened so fast I wouldn't have known what hit me," Austin said. "I bought her a big, nice juicy steak."
Dog leads owner to elderly man freezing in snow
On a frigid afternoon during a cold Minnesota winter, Brett Grinde took his 15-year-old German Shorthaired dog Effie for a walk. Just a regular walk along their regular route -- until Effie began behaving strangely.
"At the 'T' we always go left," Grinde told the Pine City Pioneer newspaper. "She started pulling to the right. Effie has never, ever done that, and hasn't pulled in a long time."
Effie was so beside herself that Grinde, an investigator with the Pine County Sheriff's Office, decided to let go of her leash and let her run. She sprinted straight to a driveway about 40 yards away, where a 94-year-old man was frozen to the ground. "He had serious exposure and blood underneath him," Grinde said. "I have seen plenty of deceased people and thought he was dead."
He wasn't dead, though, and because of Effie's intervention he was able to get emergency medical care. The man did die a few days later, but Grinde remains grateful that Effie ended his misery in the cold. "I think the one above heard the man suffering and pointed Effie in the right direction," he said. "It's all in God's hands one way or another."
Dog brings help to burning home
Remember how, in all those old TV shows and movies, Lassie the collie could always be counted on to run and get help? Well, Lassie has a new understudy: Buddy the German shepherd.
On a cold, night in Alaska, a fire erupted at the home of Buddy's owners. One of them, 23-year-old Ben Heinrichs, got Buddy safely outside and told him, "We need to get help."
That's just what Buddy did. He dashed off and eventually encountered the vehicle of a state trooper who had gotten lost on rural roads while trying to respond to the blaze. Buddy got his attention and began running at top speed down snowy streets, directing the trooper right to the fire. During the rush to the inferno, the dog kept looking back over his shoulder to make sure the trooper was keeping up.
Buddy's entire rescue effort was captured by a video camera on the trooper's dashboard.
Video: Alaska state trooper speaks out on TODAY
Cat saves couple pregnant with twins
Some cats, like Baby the 13-year-old tabby, tend to be timid all their lives. But on a night in January when multiple lives were at stake, Baby's personality changed.
Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky — who was seven months pregnant with twins — had fallen asleep on the couch in their suburban Chicago home. The couple's house was stocked with baby gear and recently assembled cribs.
A fire began in a back bedroom, and the house began filling with smoke. Baby jumped on Ornberg and woke him up. "It's kind of embarrassing that I needed my cat to wake me up, but she was my fire detector," Ornberg told PeoplePets.com. "She's usually not a very social cat, but she jumped on my lap and was jumping around."
The fire destroyed nearly all of the couple's possessions and made the home uninhabitable for a time — but everyone survived. Wonder Lake Fire Protection Assistant Chief Mike Weber called Baby a hero. "We don't know what the outcome would have been if not for the cat," Weber said.
Chihuahua saves elderly women from drowning
Chihuahuas are known for being tiny, adorable and, in some cases, a little yappy. In October 2008, one 13-pound Chihuahua named Chi Chi yipped and yapped so hysterically that he couldn't be ignored.
His owners, Rick and Mary Lane, had taken Chi Chi with them to the beach on North Carolina's Outer Banks. The diminutive doggie was resting in his own beach chair (and restrained with a leash) when he suddenly went berserk. "He leapt out of his beach chair, still attached, dragging the beach chair, and he started sending out an alarm," Mary Lane said. "He was making a sound we never heard before. Rick said, 'Hey, what's the matter with the dog?'"
Chi Chi had spotted something horrible happening about 100 yards down the beach. "There was a storm surge, and there were two elderly ladies — one had fallen on her back headfirst into the surf," Mary Lane said. "The other lady ... was trying to hold her head up, and she was in danger of being washed out."
Thanks to Chi Chi's warning, the Lanes rescued the women from the riptide.
Video: Owners chat with TODAY hosts
Dolphins rescue surfer from shark attack
The shark attack was horrific. A great white had mauled surfer Todd Endris' right leg and removed the skin off his back like a banana peel.
Just then, a pod of bottlenose dolphins came to Endris' aid. They circled the surfer and blocked the shark's access to him, making it possible for Endris to catch a wave back to shore on his board and get medical help.
The attack happened in August 2007 at Marina State Park off Monterey, Calif. The dolphins had been playing and frolicking in the area that morning while Endris and his friends surfed. Endris has no doubt that their intervention at just the right moment saved his life. "Truly a miracle," he said.
Video: Todd Endris speaks out on TODAY
Family dog kept missing 3-year-old girl safe
Arizona is known for its warm temperatures, but in the month of February, it can get downright cold after dark. It was on just such a night that a 3-year-old little girl named Victoria Bensch vanished while playing in her yard. She wound up spending the whole night outside in 30-degree temperatures wearing little more than a T-shirt -- but fortunately, she had a friend with her to keep her warm.
One of the Bensch family's dogs, a Queensland heeler named Blue, stayed by the girl's side as she wandered off at about 5 p.m. Victoria walked and walked with her lifelong pal and apparently got lost. Her disappearance triggered a massive search that continued throughout the night.
A rescue helicopter crew finally spotted Blue, then Victoria, just before 9 o'clock the following morning. She was rushed to a hospital and treated for frostbite. "We have to give a lot of credit to Blue," said Kim Rayfield, Victoria's aunt. "He pretty much stayed with her all night."
It happened on a dark Sunday evening in British Columbia, Canada, when Austin went outside to collect wood for his family's wood-burning furnace. He noticed that Angel, his happy-go-lucky golden retriever, was acting much more cautious and guarded than usual. Within moments, a cougar tried to pounce on Austin from less than 10 feet away. Angel jumped directly into the big cat's path and bore the brunt of the attack instead."She was my best friend, but now she's even greater to me. She's more than a best friend now," Austin said after the attack, which almost certainly would have killed Angel if a local police constable hadn't managed to shoot the cougar.The 18-month-old dog had surgery to repair extensive injuries to her head. "I was just lucky my dog was there, because it happened so fast I wouldn't have known what hit me," Austin said. "I bought her a big, nice juicy steak."
This is a photo of a dog named Effie who found a 94-year-old man frozen to a sidewalk in Minnesota in January 2010."At the 'T' we always go left," Grinde told the Pine City Pioneer newspaper. "She started pulling to the right. Effie has never, ever done that, and hasn't pulled in a long time."Effie was so beside herself that Grinde, an investigator with the Pine County Sheriff's Office, decided to let go of her leash and let her run. She sprinted straight to a driveway about 40 yards away, where a 94-year-old man was frozen to the ground. "He had serious exposure and blood underneath him," Grinde said. "I have seen plenty of deceased people and thought he was dead."He wasn't dead, though, and because of Effie's intervention he was able to get emergency medical care. The man did die a few days later, but Grinde remains grateful that Effie ended his misery in the cold. "I think the one above heard the man suffering and pointed Effie in the right direction," he said. "It's all in God's hands one way or another."
On a cold, night in Alaska, a fire erupted at the home of Buddy's owners. One of them, 23-year-old Ben Heinrichs, got Buddy safely outside and told him, "We need to get help."That's just what Buddy did. He dashed off and eventually encountered the vehicle of a state trooper who had gotten lost on rural roads while trying to respond to the blaze. Buddy got his attention and began running at top speed down snowy streets, directing the trooper right to the fire. During the rush to the inferno, the dog kept looking back over his shoulder to make sure the trooper was keeping up.Buddy's entire rescue effort was captured by a video camera on the trooper's dashboard.Video: Alaska state trooper speaks out on TODAY
Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky — who was seven months pregnant with twins — had fallen asleep on the couch in their suburban Chicago home. The couple's house was stocked with baby gear and recently assembled cribs.A fire began in a back bedroom, and the house began filling with smoke. Baby jumped on Ornberg and woke him up. "It's kind of embarrassing that I needed my cat to wake me up, but she was my fire detector," Ornberg told PeoplePets.com. "She's usually not a very social cat, but she jumped on my lap and was jumping around."The fire destroyed nearly all of the couple's possessions and made the home uninhabitable for a time — but everyone survived. Wonder Lake Fire Protection Assistant Chief Mike Weber called Baby a hero. "We don't know what the outcome would have been if not for the cat," Weber said.
His owners, Rick and Mary Lane, had taken Chi Chi with them to the beach on North Carolina's Outer Banks. The diminutive doggie was resting in his own beach chair (and restrained with a leash) when he suddenly went berserk. "He leapt out of his beach chair, still attached, dragging the beach chair, and he started sending out an alarm," Mary Lane said. "He was making a sound we never heard before. Rick said, 'Hey, what's the matter with the dog?'"Chi Chi had spotted something horrible happening about 100 yards down the beach. "There was a storm surge, and there were two elderly ladies — one had fallen on her back headfirst into the surf," Mary Lane said. "The other lady ... was trying to hold her head up, and she was in danger of being washed out."Thanks to Chi Chi's warning, the Lanes rescued the women from the riptide.Video: Owners chat with TODAY hosts
Just then, a pod of bottlenose dolphins came to Endris' aid. They circled the surfer and blocked the shark's access to him, making it possible for Endris to catch a wave back to shore on his board and get medical help.The attack happened in August 2007 at Marina State Park off Monterey, Calif. The dolphins had been playing and frolicking in the area that morning while Endris and his friends surfed. Endris has no doubt that their intervention at just the right moment saved his life. "Truly a miracle," he said.Video: Todd Endris speaks out on TODAY
One of the Bensch family's dogs, a Queensland heeler named Blue, stayed by the girl's side as she wandered off at about 5 p.m. Victoria walked and walked with her lifelong pal and apparently got lost. Her disappearance triggered a massive search that continued throughout the night.A rescue helicopter crew finally spotted Blue, then Victoria, just before 9 o'clock the following morning. She was rushed to a hospital and treated for frostbite. "We have to give a lot of credit to Blue," said Kim Rayfield, Victoria's aunt. "He pretty much stayed with her all night."