What would we do without our pets? Dogs across the world have done the most heroic of things in order to save the owners that they love so much. Whether it’s alerting their families to a fire in the house or saving them from an attacker, it seems like a good idea to have a dog around you. It is in the nature of some dogs to be protective and vigilant for their owners.
One dog made history recently after saving her owner’s life.
Heidi is a German Shepherd from Australia who went above and beyond to rescue her owner. When the police in Moreton Bay, Australia were notified by a fisherman that there was a dog swimming in the bay all alone, they knew that something was going on.
As it turns out, Heidi’s owner was involved in a boat accident.
The dog was seen swimming out in the bay next to some strange objects. There was a tackle box, wetsuits, and some other things that led the fisherman to believe that a man was fishing and something had happened to his boat.
The dog was pulled out of the water and taken to the vet.
When she was seen by the vet, the Brisbane water police went out to search for the missing owner that must have been with Heidi. After a few hours, the story all came to a head. Heidi’s owner is a 63-year-old man that had been found holding tight to a boat that was sinking in the bay. Once pulled from the water, the police heard more of the story.
While the man was out fishing with his dog, the boat suddenly lost power.
When the man went to check on the power issue, he realized that the boat was taking on water. Not good news when you are on open water! After realizing the issue couldn’t be fixed, the circumstances turned life or death.
When the boat was almost totally underwater, Heidi had fallen off and swam away.
All dogs can swim, but not all dogs can swim like Heidi! After doing the math, the rescuers came to an absurd realization. Once Heidi had fallen off the boat, she had swum for 11 hours straight until the rescuers had found her! For nearly half a day, the tired dog swam and swam, hoping to be found.
What is more incredible is the results of her swimming.
More than just Heidi being found, her ability to stay afloat and be found signaled to the police and water rescue that there was a man who needed help out there! Plain and simple, if Heidi wouldn’t have been found, her owner would have been out there for significantly longer. Who knows what could have happened during that time!
Once everyone was safe and dry, they all got checkups.
The 63-year-old man was saved and totally fine. Heidi had quite the swim but was also fine. Even more than that, she was given an award! The police that watched her while she was at the station dubbed her an honorary police dog for her work in helping her owner get found!
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