Lassie and Rin Tin Tin move over
Watch story and listen to the 911 call
There was heavy breathing and then whimpering on the other end of the line, but 911 operators in Scottsdale, Arizona knew exactly who was calling. It was the third time that Buddy has called 911 and none were false alarms. Buddy is an 18-month-old German Shepherd.
Buddy doesn’t have to run for help like Lassie did when Timmy got into trouble. He just goes to the phone. He was trained to do this by his owner Joe Stalnaker. Stalnaker suffers seizures due to an injury he received in the military. Stalnaker feels if it wasn’t for Buddy, he’d be forced to move to a group home.
An amazing story out of Scottsdale this week. On September 10th, 9-1-1 operator Chris Trott received a call from a dog.
The dog is an 18-month old German Shepherd named “Buddy.” Buddy was trained by his owner Joe Stalnak, to call 9-1-1 whenever he suffers a seizure.
Just before noon Wednesday, Stalnak got into trouble. According to Scottsdale police, the dog recognized what was happenning and responded by grabbing the phone and bringing it to Joe. When Joe couldn’t place the call, “Buddy” started pushing the buttons on the phone’s speed dial until he hit the one for 9-1-1. When “Buddy” heard the operator say “9-11, what’s your emergency” the dog put down the phone and started whimpering as if he is in distress.
The 9-1-1 system matches the call to the address and sent police and paramedics to the house. When help arrived they found Stalnak suffering a seizure and “Buddy” by his side. Paramedics took Joe to the hospital by ambulance and “Buddy” went along for the ride.
Joe found his best friend thru a program called “Paws with a Cause.” An agency which offers assistance animals for adoption. Joe has had “Buddy” since he was eight weeks old.
