Service Dog Saves Blind Owner From Burning House

A fire started in a home on the 4300 block of Oakmont Street in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg section. Horrifically, a blind woman in her sixties was trapped inside. Luckily, she has a great service dog named Yolanda who dialed 911 on a specialized phone, saving their lives. The hero dog — a yellow Labrador retriever — is being honored for saving her owner’s life, according to NBC Channel 10.

Firefighters took the owner to Nazareth Hospital, where she was treated for smoke inhalation. The Red Paw Emergency Relief Team and the American Red Cross are helping the displaced pair. The Team noted that Yolanda also pulled her owner out of the house. Amazingly, the super-dog Yolanda also saved her owner’s life last year, when the woman fell in her house and was unconscious. Yolanda dialed 911 then too, and the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team stated the following, according to the Examiner.

“Yolanda and her owner were displaced by a fire in ?#?Philly? this morning. The amazing part, Yolanda actually called 9-1-1, then pulled her owner out of the house! The crazy part, this is not the first time she’s call 9-1-1 for her owner! Last year Yolanda’s owner fell in the house and was unconscious, she called 9-1-1 then too! Yolanda is a superhero!!”

Yolanda also showed signs of smoke inhalation and an eye ulcer and was treated at the University of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary Hospital. The dog was monitored, then released, according to the Team’s Facebook page.

The Red Paw Emergency Relief Team also provided food, toys, and treats for the canine hero. And her story went viral on the internet, with over 1,000 “likes.”

Of course, dogs are often called man’s best friend. Even people’s companion animals are relied on as sources of comfort. And service dogs receive specialized training to assist individuals with disabilities and to perform certain specified tasks. Recently, a service dog in training was taken from his owners.

Carmella Patterson adopted a six-year-old lab/border collie mix from the Seattle Animal Shelter. She named the dog Bode, and he was microchipped to her and became a beloved family member. She stated that she had trained other dogs, and began training Bode as a service dog for her husband, Samuel. Her husband, 65, has numerous illnesses. He had strokes, is aphasic, and had numerous surgeries, including a heart transplant. Patterson said that Bode was a natural in helping her husband feel better and excelled as a service dog in training. The dog was taken, and a court ordered Bode to be returned, according to an article in the Inquisitr.

[Photo Courtesy Red Paw Emergency Relief Team]