We all know the classic show Lassie, in which a heroic collie saves the day each episode by calling for help when someone’s in trouble.
But while it can seem farfetched, it’s not too far from reality: dogs have incredible instincts when something is wrong, and have been known to save lives by alerting their owners.
That was the case recently, after one tiny dog was hailed as a hero for saving a drowning man.
A black cockapoo named Poppy was being walked by her owners near the Millennium Bridge in Gosport, UK. But suddenly, the little dog started barking a lot, grabbing the owners’ attention.
They soon realized she was trying to alert them of someone in need of help. “when she stopped I could hear somebody shouting for help so I called the coastguard,” Poppy’s owner told BBC.
“My husband had a flashlight and shone it out but we couldn’t see anything – we could just hear him calling.”
Thanks to the dog’s keen observation, the Coast Guard was able to go out on the water and make a rescue.
It turned out that a man in his mid-50s had fallen out of a transport boat on the Clarence Marina, BBC reported. He was nearly a thousand feet out from the bridge, and stormy conditions and cold water made it a life-threatening scenario.
The man had hypothermia, but survived. GAFIRS coxswain James Baggott said he was “lucky to be alive.”
And much of the credit goes to smart dog Poppy. If she hadn’t seen him out there, who knows how long it would’ve taken for someone to notice him — and since the man had already been in the water for 30 minutes, it’s easy to imagine how things could’ve turned tragic if the dog hadn’t barked.
“If the dog walker hadn’t raised the alarm the consequences could have been very different,” Baggott told BBC.
The owners, who have remained anonymous, say they’re proud of their dog and have rewarded her with treats, have been calling her “Lassie.”
“We were just so relieved to hear he had been rescued,” the owner said.
You’re a hero, Poppy! Thank god this smart dog was there to alert her owners and save the day.
It’s incredible what dogs are capable of. Share this story if you love dogs!
