Dog Calls 911 After Owner Collapses

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A dog specially trained to call 911 when his owner suffers seizures grabbed the phone Wednesday morning and whimpered for help when the dispatcher answered, police said.

Chris Trott, a veteran police operator, said she heard a cry from Buddy, who she later discovered was an 18-month-old German shepherd.

Buddy's owner, Joe Stalnaker, was suffering one of his more severe seizures, said Sgt. Mark Clark of the Scottsdale Police Department.

Ten years ago, Stalnaker said he was in a military accident that severely injured part of his brain, leaving him prone to potentially fatal seizures

He got Buddy when the dog was 8 weeks old through the help of Paws With a Cause, an assistance animal adoption service.

Stalnaker said trained the animal to recognize when he is having a seizure and respond by grabbing the phone and bringing it to him.

"He doesn't actually sit there and dial 911, but whenever he picks up the phone, one of his teeth inevitably hits the number, and if it's held down for more than three seconds, it dials the police department," Stalnaker said.

When Buddy ears the operator, he puts the phone down and whimpers as if he's in distress. The 911 system matches the call to the address and dispatches emergency help, Clark said.

Trott stayed on the phone with Buddy until she could hear paramedics arrive, less than three minutes after the dog had placed the call, Clark said.

Buddy rode in the ambulance with Stalnaker to the hospital, and both man and dog were back home two days later, feeling much better.

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I don't know if training dogs is all that heroic... as long as we're being nitpicky.

Well, it depends on what you're training the dog to do. Training the dog to save lives is a pretty awesome thing to do. More heroic than I what I do for a living, to be sure.

But the dog doesn't know the difference between being trained to pick-up a phone with its teeth or being trained to jump through hoops for a dog show. It's just a dog doing what it does.

I love dogs, but this isn't an act of heroism on the dog's part.

maybe "Well-Trained Dog Calls 911 After Owner Collapses"?

I work for a healthcare company... I like to think there's something mildly heroic or at least worthwhile about helping people pay their medical claims <_<

Well, it depends on what you're training the dog to do. Training the dog to save lives is a pretty awesome thing to do. More heroic than I what I do for a living, to be sure.

Here's an unpopular thought: I don't think doing any job you get paid to do = heroism, nor do I think having a job where acts of heroism might be more prevalent or even necessary (like cops, firefighters, or soldiers) automatically makes you a "hero." Society likes to toss that work around. Not every cop, firefighter, or soldier is a hero just because they are a cop, firefighter, or a soldier. I've known plenty of non-heroic pieces of shit cops and soldiers.

So yeah, the dog's not a hero, but he probably kicks ass.