Figo, The Golden Service Dog
05/04/22 • 11 min
1 Listener
On a Monday morning in June, Figo (age 8) and Audrey (age 62) were out for their daily walk in Brewster, New York when something crazy happened. They’d just stepped out into the street to cross when a small school bus carrying a driver and two kindergarten students approached. The bus wasn’t moving very fast at all but it also wasn’t stopping.
The driver of the bus didn’t see them. But, Figo saw the bus coming and knew he had to do his job of protecting his vision impaired human. Figo actually leaped into action, moving from Audrey’s right side to her left to take the full impact of the bus. He literally threw himself into the path of the bus to shield his blind owner.
Sources
New York Dog Lunges in Front of Bus, Saves Blind Owner's Life - ABC News
On a Monday morning in June, Figo (age 8) and Audrey (age 62) were out for their daily walk in Brewster, New York when something crazy happened. They’d just stepped out into the street to cross when a small school bus carrying a driver and two kindergarten students approached. The bus wasn’t moving very fast at all but it also wasn’t stopping.
The driver of the bus didn’t see them. But, Figo saw the bus coming and knew he had to do his job of protecting his vision impaired human. Figo actually leaped into action, moving from Audrey’s right side to her left to take the full impact of the bus. He literally threw himself into the path of the bus to shield his blind owner.
Sources
New York Dog Lunges in Front of Bus, Saves Blind Owner's Life - ABC News
Previous Episode
Barry The First St. Bernard
2 RecommendationsBarry had an incredible sense of smell, such that he could smell out people buried in the snow. Like other St. Bernards, Barry was trained by the monks at the hospice to rescue travelers who became lost while hiking through the unrelenting terrain of the Alps. Many times he’d find someone who had laid down in the snow in exhaustion and he’d lie on top of them to warm them and lick their faces repeatedly to wake them up.
Sources
Meet Barry, The Saint Bernard That Could Save You From An Avalanche – Top Dog Tips
Barry the St Bernard: from farm dog to national hero - SWI swissinfo.ch
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/01/10/saint-of-saints/
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Courthouse Dogs
1 RecommendationsCourtrooms can be terrifying - for everyone. They are literally a place of judgment. And many people have to get up in front of other people and share intimate, horrific details. It’s like walking around without your skin on. Some of the most afraid are children who are witnesses to crimes or conflict and who then are asked to testify about those experiences in a courtroom. How do we help everyone be less afraid?
One brilliant solution in the early 2000s was to bring in creatures who bring comfort and whose immediate impact is to reduce anxiety. Since then, courts across the country are inviting “courthouse facility dogs” to accompany witnesses to the stand to help calm them and make the whole process easier. They lie quietly in the witness box and give their supportive presence as the witness shares their difficult story with the court, judge and jury.
Sources
New courthouse pup will be 1st of its kind in Maine
Houlton Courthouse dog is a gentle giant
Courthouse facility dog - Wikipedia
Canines Helping Out in the Courtroom | The Pew Charitable Trusts
Courthouse Canines: Therapy Dogs Take the Stand
Facility Dogs/Courthouse Support Dogs | Animal Legal & Historical Center
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