The dog that saved two people’s lives in Pittsburg

Dogs are humans’ best friends. They’ve proved it once and once again. Just being our companions at home, they extend our lives. The American Heart Association said studies suggest canines may help you recover more effectively after a heart attack or stroke and may help you live a longer, healthier life.

A Pit Bull in Pittsburgh went much further by not only extending the lives of his owners but by saving their lives altogether. The story of the heroic dog has been shared across media outlets worldwide.

Gary Thynes was taking his dog out to play in the park on July 30th when he noticed a “beautiful Pit Bull” walking alone with its leash dragging behind it. Concerned the dog might get hit by a passing car, Thynes tried to get close enough to grab the leash and remove the canine from harm’s way. Thynes posted on Facebook.

The dog led him down a secluded path

However, the Pit Bull, a breed sometimes trained to fight and regulated as dangerous, stayed just out of arm’s reach. He would bark and run a few steps ahead before turning back, Thynes said in his post.

After several attempts, Thynes soon realised the Pit Bull wanted him to follow it, so he did.

“I could get almost close enough to grab the leash, and he would run a little farther,” Thynes said, describing how the dog began to lead him down a secluded path behind train tracks to a tent encampment, where he initially found an unresponsive man lying on a red couch.

“I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing or not. And then I turned around and noticed a pair of legs sticking out of a tent, and I tried to shake them, and it was a woman who would not respond to me,” Thynes told CNN Affiliate WTAE.

The young man, who says he is a recovering heroin addict, called 911 immediately. Respondents arrived within minutes to rush the couple to the hospital, the Guardian reported.

The couple was rushed to hospital alive

Pittsburgh’s public safety department later confirmed to media outlets that a man and a woman – both unresponsive – had been taken from the encampment to the hospital.

“We are grateful to our public safety partners and the good Samaritan who were in the area and were in a position to help,” officials also said.

Instead of leaving the dog in the custody of a local pound, Thynes wrote that he agreed to care for the Pit Bull while the animal’s owners remained hospitalised.

“It is an honour for me to take care of this guy until his humans are well enough to reunite with a dog that loves them very much,” said Thynes, whose post and interview on WTAE gained widespread attention online.

‘Amazing’, the dog ‘saved some lives’

Thynes told WTAE that the heroic Pit Bull he is fostering “is a persistent little puppy, … amazing, and … saved some lives”.

The couple seem to be recovering at the hospital, but until now, no official information has been released explaining what happened to them before their dog and Thynes rescued them.