Posted on 05/08/2012 7:21:24 PM PDT by Bratch
An eight year old pit bull is recovering in a Massachusetts animal hospital after conducting a remarkable rescue mission. According to witnesses, the heroic dog saved the life of her owner just before she was hit by an oncoming freight train.
The Massachusetts SPCA said Christine Spain of Shirley was walking home with her dog Lilly when she collapsed on the tracks. Spain’s son, Boston Police Officer David Lanteigne, says the train’s engineer watched in amazement as the dog moved her owner out of harm’s way. Traveling at a high rate of speed, the train was unable to come to a stop, and Lilly was hit seconds after saving Spain.
“The engineer said as he was coming up, he saw the dog pulling her off the tracks. But there wasn’t enough time,” Lanteigne said. “He then saw the dog come around between the train and my mom and take the hit of the train.”
That heroic deed came at substantial cost: veterinarians were forced to amputate a badly mangled leg that was beyond repair. Lilly also suffered a broken pelvis, but remarkably, she is expected to make a full recovery. While receiving treatment for her injuries, the brave dog has been showered with letters of appreciation as news of her story spreads.
For a breed often maligned in media reports, this, say pit bull advocates, is just another example of what they are really made of. They say Lilly is a true hero, a sentiment echoed by David Lanteigne.
“Lilly stepped up to the plate – true to form, true to character…and she saved my mom’s life.”
The quote is from General Mattis (that I annotated) addressing Iraqi leaders
I have two dogs, one the same breed as Lilly. She wouldn’t hurt a flea and has the sweetest disposition you could imagine. She’s so intelligent and very sensitive. A wonderful dog.
Was that an attempt at humor? It’s hard to tell, since all it really tells us is that you had nothing of value to say, but you couldn’t resist the urge to show us that you had nothing to say.
Pit Bull Pulls Unconscious Owner From Path Of Oncoming Train...before tearing him to bits and eating him after owner's cat dragged him onto tracks.
Yeah that’s true I guess that makes up for all the mangled kids
The flip side of that, well, we all know....
The Boston news video of Lilly’s story. Good pup.
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/319363/28/Dog-pulls-owner-off-railroad-tracks
Every fall “trophy hunters” give their unwanted headless deer to my friend.
Her pack of Pugs & Ibizans, 1 Xolo and 1 GSD mix chow down on the carcasses.
One year they couldn’t get one Pug to abandon the carcass, even to come in at night.
He kept popping up out of the ribcage periodically, absolutely covered in gore...and grinning like mad.
That is *true* “raw feeding”.
:)
This was not her story but it ~could~ have been:
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/reports/jerryp/dogsinelk.html
““He then saw the dog come around between the train and my mom and take the hit of the train.”
This is called “blocking”.
In dog body language, the dog attempts to present itself as a intermediary between bickering pack members.
It works very well with other dogs; trains, not so much.
Some dogs naturally defensively “block” their owners from perceived threats and if the threat goes away, all is well.
If the threat persists, the dog goes to the next level which is the offense.
This story, though it had a happy ending for the woman, makes me sad because the woman’s addictions cost the loyal dog her leg.
As usual, the dog pays for the owner’s “sins”, whether it be this case or owners not properly socializing/training them which results in inappropriate aggression or attacks.
And similarly say the gun grabbers. I’m less than impressed. Any big dog is potentially dangerous. Blame the stupid people who do not handle them properly.
I’m not saying ban them, I just don’t understand why people would choose them instead of a much stronger dog, but which is intelligent enough to not randomly attack, like a german shephard
I have dealt with those dogs, and I am firmly of the opinion that they are prone to random outbursts
It’s amusing to go to You Tube and look up the videos of pit bulls and house cats schmoozing to schmaltzy music.
This, as was explained to me later, is likely what Sam did for me during the bear encounter.
During those few intense moments, I recall being baffled by his behavior.
He was being completely non-aggressive, just standing broadside to the bear, passively blocking its path.
He kept the stance, allowing the bear to approach him, and didn't go on offense until the bear struck.
It's funny in that my first reaction to the presence of the bear was to put myself between the bear and Sam.
Once the bear had circled us the roles were reversed.
I love dogs. What a wonderful gift our Creator has given us.
Got a link?
In the biblical account of the two brave spies among many more chicken spies who had been sent from the Hebrew people to scope out Canaan, one was named Caleb — which in Hebrew is “DOG.”
The first time I read your story, I knew he was blocking.
You have a very wonderful dog, as I’m sure you already know.
I feel the same way you do.
For all that my boy is perfectly capable, I *know* with certainty that I’d be trying to protect ~him~ to my last breath.
I reckon that’s how we know how *much* we love our dogs.
Funny thing is when people comment on what would “happen to them if they messed with me”, hubby is always quick to point out that it wouldn’t be *near* as horrible as what would happen to them if they messed with my dog...;D
I know I’ve asked before but would you please give Sam a steak and hug, for me?
I’m grateful to him, too because otherwise I’d never have met *you*.
:)
Great story at the link - had me laughing out loud here with all kinds of bizarre mental pictures!
I *know*.
The first time I read it I thought I was gonna choke to death, laughing.
;D
If you’ve ever heard a New Guinea Singing Dog actually *singing*, the “reverb” parts of the story are almost unbearably funny.
Chet is at True Blue Liberty nowadays....
Hi Chet!
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