Dog lovers or not, may people tend to have pretty solid opinions over what dictates a ‘good’ dog breed and which breeds are ‘bad’ or ‘dangerous.’ Unfortunately, whenever a dog attack story is shared in the media, it tends to be the same breeds cropping up over and over again.
Pit bulls, Staffordshire bull terriers, rottweilers, and other breeds have been branded as dangerous due to their track record, but we have to stop and ask ourselves why these breeds are always the ones who attack. Sadly, in many cases these dogs are used for dogfighting, are brought up in terrible conditions, and are used to a life of neglect and abuse. So is it right to blame a dog who has never been shown love for being violent?
For the most part, these dogs who grow up in happy, loving homes simply don’t have a violent bone in their body. And we think this next story proves just that, as a ‘frightening’ pit bull who was branded ‘bad’ actually ended up saving a woman’s life.
Simba the pit bull lives in an apartment in Sweden with his owner, Arjanit Mehana.
He’s a sweet-natured guy who loves to be around people, but sadly, most people on Arjanit’s block were wary of him and would go out of their way to avoid the little guy. In particular, an elderly woman on the floor below had a great fear of Simba. She wouldn’t come anywhere near him.
“He always tried to greet her, but she called him mean and looked at him with fear,” Arjanit told The Dodo. “She never liked him because he was a ‘bad’ breed.”
Although the woman didn’t like him, Simba held no grudges and was always happy to say hello to anybody, regardless of their feelings towards him.
One day, Arjanit and his pooch were returning home from a walk and passed by their elderly neighbor’s apartment on the way to their room. Simba immediately began to act strangely and refused to leave the woman’s doorstep.
“He stopped,” Arjanit said. “He began to bark and run to the door where the neighbor lives. I pulled the leash but he refused to come.”
As Arjanit stooped down to pick up Simba, he heard a faint noise coming from inside the apartment. It was a weak woman’s voice – and she was shouting for help.
“I heard a weak voice shout for help,” Arjanit said. “She said, ‘Please don’t go.’”
Arjanit tried the door and found that it was unlocked. When he opened it, he saw a worrying sight. His neighbor had collapsed onto the floor and was unable to move.
Arjanit found that the woman had broken her hip, and horrifyingly, she had been on the floor for two whole days, unable to get help.
Arjanit quickly called for an ambulance and he and his pooch stayed with his neighbor until help arrived. Thanks to Simba – the dog that his neighbor had been so afraid of – they had been able to help before it was too late. The elderly woman was very thankful, and just like that, her whole view of Simba seemed to change.
“She said, ‘Thank you for hearing me.’ I thought she was talking to me at first,” Arjanit recalled. “But then she said, ‘No, not you — the nice doggie.’”
Thanks to Simba’s impressive hearing, their neighbor is now recovering in hospital and the pooch has gone from a ‘bad’ dog to a hero!
Once neighbors found out about Simba’s amazing life-saving skills, they began to send him treats and gifts – which he certainly deserves! Arjanit hopes that stories like his will help to change the world’s perception of ‘dangerous’ dog breeds. He told The Dodo:
“I know Simba is a wonderful dog, but I hope this event will make people see bully breeds differently. We, as human beings, must deserve their loyalty and love.”
We completely agree! What a clever dog.
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