Can you imagine a five pound poodle fighting off a wild animal that’s 40 times larger in order to save her family? Or a service dog sacrificing its life by jumping in between an
apex predator and its owner ? Well, when it comes to protecting their families, a loyal dog cannot be deterred by any threat – no matter how big or scary.
Time and time again, these courageous companions have prevented the worst from happening by saving their owners lives.
They will keep their loved ones safe at all costs, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.
We’re celebrating these unsung heroes by counting down the most heroic dogs and what they did in the crucial moments to save their owners lives.
3. Number three: senior adopted dog sacrifices life to save his new family.
Pete was a 14 year old senior English setter recently adopted into his new family. In fact, Pete had been living in his new home for just 18 months. But despite knowing his new family for just 18 months a short amount of time, his loyalty to them did not falter. He stayed loyal until his very last day.
One day, Pete and his new family went hiking in the mountains of New Jersey. It had just rained so the owner, Stephen, thought that it would be nice to get the dogs out of the house.
The black bear’s sense of smell is typically very good – in fact, seven times stronger than that of a bloodhound’s.
But because of recent rain, the bear wasn’t able to smell the family approach.
When the bear finally encountered the family, it was startled. His instincts kicked in and he came running for the family. Stephen managed to get the younger dogs out of harm’s way, but only because Pete had decided to take it upon himself to fight off the black bear.
By the time Stephen made sure his family was safe he came back and scared the bear off. Unfortunately, Pete took a beating and was already seriously injured with a broken back.
The dog couldn’t even stand up. After carrying Pete down the mountain, he rushed him to the hospital. Stephen knew the only way was to humanely put him down to end the pain for his family’s hero.
Stephen’s wife wrote, “I want to remember him as the happy-go-lucky dog he was. I want to remember him running through the woods always with his tail wagging.” It didn’t matter how long Pete knew his new family. You could tell he was forever grateful to the family for giving him a second chance and a
home once again.
