This is the story of how my dog Nenkin saved my family.
A number of years ago, I was living in a house that had a small porch in front of the main door. The porch had a screen door that I usually kept locked. When someone came to the door, they would ring the doorbell and I would go out on the porch, greet them, and unlock the screen door to let them in. My smooth collie-mix Nenkin would usually accompany me out on the porch. She loved people and loved to say hello to anyone coming in.
One summer evening the doorbell rang and I went out on the porch. Standing in front of the screen door was a clean-cut man in his 30s. He explained that his car had broken down, and could he come inside to use our phone. This was prior to the general availability of cell phones, so his request sounded reasonable.
As I was about to unlock the screen door, Nenkin appeared at my side. She took one look at the man, and her hackles rose. She bared her teeth and started to bark furiously. I couldn’t believe that this was the same dog who lavished love on everyone coming into the house.
I grabbed her collar to keep her from lunging at the screen door, and regretfully explained to the man that I was sorry, but I couldn’t let him in because there was something wrong with my dog. He was clearly frightened by Nenkin’s barking and went away quickly.
The next day I read about this man in our local newspaper. It seems that he went a couple of blocks down the street, knocked on a door with the same story, and a kindly elderly couple let him into their house. He overpowered them, tied them up into chairs, robbed the house and stole their car. He was stopped for speeding some 150 miles away, and because his name did not match the car’s registration, the police because suspicious and detained him. They called our local police department, asking an officer to check on the car’s registered owners. Because there was no response to a phone call, an officer went to the residence of the elderly couple, found them tied up and set them free. Without this chain of events, the couple could have died before anyone found them.
So my dog somehow sensed that this was not a good person, and saved us from possibly having the man rob us.
Was she psychic? Maybe. Rupert Sheldrake, in his 1999 book, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home, And Other Unexplained Powers Of Animals, documents a number of unexplained abilities that seem to suggest a psychic nature. One of his chapters deals with dogs and cats psychically picking up the intentions of the humans around them.
But there might be an alternative explanation. Recent research is showing that dogs are very attentive to human body language and very subtle cues that we humans don’t even notice. Perhaps there was something about the man’s posture that gave him away. Or perhaps Nenkin smelled a scent of fear from the man, or a scent of rage. I never saw her do this behavior again toward anyone else.
Whatever it was, I was very grateful to her. Psychic or not, she saved the day.
Well whether she was psychic or not she surely saved you from being robbed. A great pet to have indeed.
Posted by: Logo design | August 08, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Dogs have uncanny abilities that cannot be explained. thank you for sharing this wonderful story
Posted by: Melissa the Orlando Psychic | May 06, 2011 at 01:11 PM
This is very interesting and moral story because an animal has saved human life but now humans are not even ready to save other human life. people should learn from this story. Thanks for sharing this story and keep sharing such inspiring stories in future!
Posted by: refurbished dell computers | April 11, 2010 at 02:07 AM
This is the reason people call dogs men's best friend
Posted by: Cheap Computers Canada | March 02, 2010 at 09:24 PM
This story reminds me my favorite feature in the old "Boys Life" magazine, a publication for cub scouts and boy scouts. Every month the inside back cover featured, "True Stories of Scouts in Action" with heroic tales of boy scout bravery.
I can share a True Story of Dogs in Action. A few weeks ago, the family celebrated Thanksgiving at my daughter's house. Among the guests were my dog, Zippy, a two-year old, 27-pound, mixed breed (looks like a Lancashire Heeler...or a cross between a Chihuahua and a Husky). Also in attendance: Our son's dog, Bella, a 65-lb. hyper-exuberant golden lab...and our granddaughter, 19-months old and all of 20 pounds...maybe.
In the afternoon I was in the back yard with Bella to try to work with her with a clicker and hand-targeting. Give her a useful outlet. One of the guests came outside with the little girl. Bella the hyper-lab came bounding over to the little girl and knocked her flat on her back. The person who was accompanying the little girl lifted her back to her feet and the dog wheeled around and knocked her over again.
I was about 40 feet away and tried first to tell the adult to pick up the little girl as I tried to distract the dog. Then the little girl began crying and running back to the house.
Now I was worried. In some dogs, the combination of a small creature, unsteady gait and high-pitched distress sounds can trigger prey-drive behavior. And Bella wheeled around and charged the little girl. I was definitely concerned.
Suddenly, there was a flash of brown and a 27-pound, fur-tipped artillery shell named Zippy streaked across the yard and plowed into Bella's ribs and knocked the much bigger dog over. He then stood over her and every time she tried to move, Zippy grabbed one of her ears and tugged it very hard until she lay still. Zippy to the rescue!
I asked the adult to pick up the toddler and bring her into the house.
Was Zippy being a hero? To me he was! A behavioralist might disagree and simply point to the distressed people and say that he was simply responding to all of the commotion--look no further than classical conditioning theory to explain his behavior. Certainly the Zipster was hyped-up: His pupils were the size of pie-plates; he exhibited enough piloerection (hair standing on end) to embarrass a porcupine; his commisure was pulled far forward, almost to an agonistic pucker.
So, was this mere instinctive, biological-driven behavior? Or something more valiant?
Whatever your explanation, Zippy prevented the golden lab from possibly injuring the little girl. I do believe that the dog merely wanted to play...in the worst way. Zippy exercised exquisite bite control as he held Bella's ear firmly, if not painfully, without breaking the skin. When the little girl was safely inside, Zippy eased off...but maybe that was just everyone else calming down.
This is my accounting of, "True Stories of Dogs in Action". As a reward, Zippy got to chase a ball, got a belly-rub and meat!
Posted by: Harry Steinman | December 21, 2009 at 11:55 AM
awesome story!! so glad the elderly couple were okay. smart of you to listen to your dog instead of writing it off like a lot of people do. :o)
Posted by: Natalie | December 06, 2009 at 04:18 PM
Poor couple...At least that guy was caught! And thank heavens that Nenkin was there to save you and your family from danger...Dogs have really amazing abilities and they are truly dependable!!!
Cheers to Nenkin! :)
Posted by: Kate | December 03, 2009 at 01:44 AM
Oh my gosh. What a crazy story! Im really glad that guy got caught and I feel so bad for the couple because they just thought that this guy was in distress! I think dogs do have a sense of danger and I'm really glad that she saved the day!
Posted by: Samantha James | December 01, 2009 at 02:51 PM