Holiday Heroes: 5 Pet Heroes Who Saved the Day!

Here at Michelson Found Animals, we think every pet has a hero inside them. Whether it’s licking our tears away or giving us a hug after a bad day at work, our pets really seem to know when we need them. Here are stories of animals who truly embody what it means to be a hero. Here are five pet heroes who saved the day!

Danny

Danny, a Miniature Schnauzer, truly channeled Lassie when he saved the life of his owner, Bethe Bennett. Bethe fell one day, broke her femur and lost consciousness. Luckily, Danny was a trained service dog who took care of Bethe’s mother so he seemed to know exactly what to do. He first licked Bethe’s face until she regained consciousness. He then went above and beyond by knocking over the telephone and nudging it toward her.

Unfortunately, Bethe also knew her front door was locked. She commanded Danny to bring her “paper.” The fifth piece of paper he brought her was one with a neighbor’s number on it. This way she was able to call both 911 and the neighbor so they could unlock the door to let the paramedics in. What a good dog!

Schnautzie

Schnautzie was just a wee kitten (nope, not a Schnauzer like Danny!) when she changed the lives of her owners forever. It was a cold night in October 2007, when Trudy Guy woke up. Schnautzie was up and about, and much to Trudy’s annoyance, tapping, her owner on the nose with her paw. She ignored the feisty kitten and went back to sleep. However, Trudy persevered and kept tapping her on the nose.

Trudy finally woke up all the way and noticed Schnautzie was sniffing the air oddly. She poked her husband, Greg, awake and they both heard a hissing noise. Turns out a gas pipe leading into their home was broken and filling their basement with fumes. Greg, Trudy and Schnautzie evacuated the home. Afterward, firefighters told them that if the furnace turned on — which was a guarantee on such a cold night — the house would have exploded. Thanks to Schnautzie such a disaster never transpired!

Toby

Debbie Parkhurst was at her home in Maryland when her trouble began. She was simply eating an apple when a piece lodged itself in her throat. She started choking and attempted to dislodge the apple by beating on her chest, but the apple wouldn’t budge.

Luckily her Golden Retriever, Toby, seemed to magically know the Heimlich Maneuver! He noticed his owner’s panic and jumped up. He put his paws on her shoulders, knocked her to the floor and jumped up and down on her chest. Miraculously, this dislodged the apple and Toby licked Debbie’s face to keep her from losing consciousness. He even won a Dog of the Year Award for his good deed!

Baby

Baby, the 13-year-old Tabby, was timid her whole life except for one night. In 2010, Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky were pregnant with twins. They were fast asleep on their couch when a fire began in the back bedroom.

Normally not a very social cat, Baby, sprung to action — literally — and jumped on Josh’s chest to wake him up. The brutal fire destroyed pretty much all of the couple’s possessions and made their home uninhabitable, but thanks to Baby everyone survived!

Roselle

Michael Hingson went to work as usual on the 78th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. With him was Roselle, his guide dog for the blind. After the planes struck, Roselle guided Michael through the smoke and panicked crowds of people, down 1,463 steps to safety — all right before the building collapsed. Good girl!