Dog Saves Drowning Toddler, Now Called a Hero
Bear the dog is being heralded as a hero after saving a 14-month-old boy named Stanley. The dog jumped into the family pool and put Stanley on his back, allowing the boy to be seen by his mother and given medical attention.
Stanley was trailing his mother, Patricia Drauch, to the garage as she went in search of a shovel. By the time she reached the garage, Stanley was gone, and Patricia discovered his lifeless body floating in the pool. Thankfully, the family dog, Bear, had jumped into the pool and pulled Stanley's body on top of his own.
Bear then served as a flotation device for the small boy, as Patricia scooped up Stanley and tried to call 911. Her cell phone was unable to receive reception, and Patricia was forced to take her son to the local fire department. On the way, she finally got cell phone reception and was able to speak to a 911 operator.
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Stanley perked up on his own and was found to be in good condition by the time he reached the hospital. Bear is being called a hero for risking his own welfare to retrieve the boy and keep him above water until Patricia responded.
"Bear wouldn't move in the pool," Drauch told 24 Hour News 8. "He didn't bark, he didn't move. It was like he was afraid to move at all until I got Stanley up out of the pool, and that's when Bear came up out of the pool with me."
"From the information we have, it seems to pan out," Undersheriff Rick Behnke told Wood TV. "It's an amazing story. The dog is a lifesaver, that's all I can say."
"I'd always told Bear since he was four weeks old, 'These are your babies, watch out,'" Drauch explained. And it's a message Bear obviously took to heart. "If Bear wasn't out, I don't think Stanley would have made it. He proved that he's got enough love for the kids. He's more than just our hunting dog."
