ANIMAL HEROES

To paraphrase Henry Beston (The Outermost House, 1928), animals are not our brethren, or underlings, but are “other nations.” They move “finished and complete,” fellow prisoners of the splendor and travails of the earth.

Too often humans forget, or ignore, the totality of other species, and think more of what they can and cannot do for us. In my files, which I have kept over many years, I have many examples of different animal species performing surprisingly clever, even altruistic deeds; some are truly heroic acts. What is more, they appear to be far more sapient than most people realize.

Companion animals are known to lower or stabilize blood pressure of their human companions, as well as provide good company, particularly for shut ins. Dogs and cats, and sometimes other animals, are often invited to visit nursing homes and hospitals to provide a kind of “therapy” for the residents. Dogs, monkeys and other animals also help disabled people in other ways, such as getting their newspaper or doing other chores, and some animals are trained to recognize the early onset of an epileptic attack well before the victim does, even sometimes dialing 911 in the event of a medical emergency.

And then there are the heroes: my file includes many accounts of animals who foil kidnappings, rescue children from dangerous animals or speeding vehicles; are seen overcoming fear with bravery and showing what—at the risk of anthropomorphizing—are clearly compassion, affection, grief, mourning, or other strong emotions. Of course we all know about the hero “911 dogs,” who saved many lives after the World Trade Center attacks, but many of you will be surprised by the mindful bravery of other animals.

Take, for example, the pack of 60 gorillas who stormed a village in Cameroon to rescue a young gorilla who had been captured alive by a hunter; the Welsh cow named Daisy who saved the owner of her farm by leading a group of cows into a circle around him to protect him from further injury by a 3,300-pound bull who had stomped on his chest and shoulders.

Consider the many instances of dolphins who helped push drowning people to safety. Then there is the case of Duane Wright of Tucson, Arizona, a sleep apnea sufferer, who was saved by his pet iguana in May 1994 after he had stopped breathing. The iguana awakened him by hitting him with her claws and tail.
Even bunnies know how to go thump, thump to protect their humans from fire.

In July of 2008 in Australia, a news item for Agence France Presse reported on a pet rabbit who emergency workers claimed saved his guardians’ lives by scratching at the door of their bedroom as their home burned.

Animals may arguably be more tolerant of differences than humans and will cross species barriers out of compassion. In April 2002, a disabled boy was adopted and raised by chimpanzees in Kano, Nigeria. In 2001 a mother bear appears to have cared for a missing 16-month-old Iranian toddler who was found safe and sound three days later.

Very recently a Golden Retriever was pictured nursing tiger cubs at the Kansas Zoo, and there have been many other mismatched pairs—dogs and cats nursing squirrels, a rabbit nursing ostrich chicks, and a hen adopting a kitten, for just a few examples.

LuLu the Lifesaving Pig

But perhaps my favorite rescuer is a pot-bellied pig named LuLu. On August 4, 1998, Jo Ann Altsman of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, had a heart attack in the bedroom of her vacation trailer at a Pennsylvania lake resort. Many say that pigs are smarter than dogs, and certainly Altsman would agree.

After her collapse, her American Eskimo dog began to bark, but no one was close enough to respond. Lulu can’t bark, but she did something much more daring. She scrambled through a tight “doggie door,” cutting her protruding stomach in the process; then waited at the side of the road until she saw a car.

She then waddled to the road and lay down right in front of the car. The motorist stopped for the prone pig and got out. LuLu then led the man to the house and the rescue. Altsman heard a man screaming through her window that her pig was in distress. She answered that, in fact, it was she who was in distress, and asked him to call an ambulance.

Luckily, help arrived in time: doctors said that if 15 more minutes had elapsed she likely would have died.

Nondiscriminatory heroes

Animals aren’t only protective of their human guardians. They are also nondiscriminatory heroes and do brave deeds to help members of their own or other species. In July 1997, a lady in Oklahoma sent a photo to a CBS newsroom along with the story of the woodpecker pictured in the photo, who she wrote had flown into her window, knocking himself out cold. As she watched, another bird flew toward the house and picked up the unconscious bird and took it to a nearby tree branch. Out of what could only be compassion, this bird stayed with the unconscious bird for about two hours, watching over him. When the woodpecker finally awoke, seeming okay, both birds flew off.

Dogs and cats are known for rescuing their human guardians from smoke and fire. The online journal Animal People, in 1996 charted 11 cases of dogs alerting humans to fires or other imminent life-threatening disasters, and five cats doing the same.

A few of the cat heroes in my files include Susie, an orange tabby from Oklahoma City who alerted her 100-year-old human guardian, Lois Gillis Hall to a smoldering fire one evening in May 1998.

Gillis Hall had just gotten to sleep and awoke to a shrill screech. As she opened her eyes she saw Susie sitting hunched beside her, fur on end, yowling furiously. Susie then pounced on Gillis Hall’s chest, swiping her with the soft pad of her paw, which Gillis Hall assumed was Susie’s way of telling her that she wanted to go out, so she led her downstairs and out the door. Susie bolted back in, meowing more desperately than before, as if to tell Lois something. As Lois turned, she saw that the house was burning. A fire had started in an electric blanket which had burned a hole in her mattress. Just a few more minutes and the bed would have burst into flames, with her in it.

Animal Heroes: Where would we be today without them?