Photo Credit ( Pixels )
Could you survive thanks to your pet?The benefits of the human-animal link extend well beyond the unending cuddling and companionship that animals provide. They safeguard our physical safety, enhance our mental health, and even notify us of potential medical issues.2. Science has spent a significant amount of time studying and being amazed by the interactions between humans and animals.
These incredible tales of animal bravery and kindness include a rabbit that can detect diabetes and a parrot that serves as a burglar alarm.
- Stubby the Sergeant
1917 saw the appearance of a little stray mongrel puppy in the 102nd infantry training camp, close to Yale, USA, where the Yankee Division was getting ready for combat in World War I.3. Given his short tail, the troops gave him the nickname Stubby, and the dog quickly assimilated into the group. He was permitted to join the soldiers on the front lines after his friends showed him how to “salute” and taught him the bugle call.5.
He had been trapped in a gas attack, but the next time it happened, he knew what was coming and was able to stir up the sleeping soldiers. In addition, he was skilled at locating injured men and managed to capture a German soldier in the trenches by biting and holding him until help arrived. Stubby fought in 17 fights before the conclusion of the war, and he received a gold medal for bravery from the Humane Education Society in addition to a lifetime membership in the American Legion.Six
- Dolphin risk
Dolphin playfulness has been well-documented. However, what about their innate tendency to defend? Rob Howes went swimming off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island in 2004 with his daughter and two of her friends. Four bottlenose dolphins surrounded them there, slapping their tails on the water’s surface to keep the group from swimming away.
Rob was pushed backwards by two larger dolphins when he attempted to leave the group, right before he noticed a three-meter-long great white shark swimming directly toward him. The group was able to swim 100 meters back to shore after the dolphins kept up their protective circle for forty minutes, at which point the shark finally disappeared. Dolphins use this strategy to defend their young from shark attacks, and for unknown reasons, they also decided to protect this particular group of people.7.
- Swimming trunks
In 2015, Kham La and Bai Teoy, a newborn elephant and her mother, were saved by Darrick Thomson of the Save Elephant Foundation8 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Darrick helped to rehabilitate Baby Kham La, and the two became close.9.
A prime illustration of their close bond was demonstrated one day when Darrick went swimming. At that moment, baby elephant Kham was on the beach and mistook Darrik’s sweet sounds for her as a signal for help. The handler was given the elephant calf’s trunk to clutch after it dashed into the water. She then covered him with her body until she could assure him that he was safe.10
- Treating animals
Hospitals, hospices, and prisons are starting to see an increasing number of therapy animals, ranging in size from little ponies to canines. Caring for animals fosters empathy and nurturing qualities, and petting an animal generates endorphins11, or feel-good neurotransmitters, which can benefit people with depression conditions.12
It has also been discovered that the introduction of animal therapy programs reduces occurrences of restlessness, bewilderment, and violent behavior among those with dementia.Thirteen Therapy dogs14 are employed in certain UK prisons, and prisoners at HMP Foston Hall tend to a loft full of retired racing pigeons.15 The inmates benefit from having a focus and diversion from this, which will aid in their eventual reintegration into society.
- Prompt alert
Because they are very perceptive to change, animals notice strange occurrences before humans do, especially if they happen overnight. Dogs, cats, and even parrots are examples of household pets that frequently demonstrate exceptional abilities as smoke and burglar detectors. Shrewsbury cat Tink jumped on her owner to wake her up when she saw flames rising from a nearby house, warning her of the danger. However, Tink was soon overtaken by smoke and needed oxygen.16
A parrot named Eric in Brisbane, Australia, called out his owner’s name several times to wake him up and let him know there was a fire in his house.17 A serial burglar was apprehended in Monmouth, South Wales, in the meantime, after Charlie, an orange-winged Amazon parrot, noticed the intruder and sound the alarm.18
- Hero canines
Both Roselle and Salty were guide dogs employed at the World Trade Center in 2001 when the September 11th attacks occurred. Even when a fellow employee attempted to help, Salty did not leave his owner until he had guided him to safety. Through the smoke, noise, and debris, Roselle guided her owner to the stairway where she and 30 other individuals took him down the 1,463 stairs to exit the tower. The tower collapsed shortly after they left, and the descent took more than an hour. After that, Roselle guided her owner to their house and the adjacent metro stop.19 She even rose to a modest celebrity status by making appearances on the CBS Morning Show and Larry King Live.
“For remaining loyally at the side of their blind owners, courageously leading them down more than 70 floors of the World Trade Center and to a place of safety following the terrorist attack on New York on September 11, 2001,” Salty and Roselle were awarded a joint Dickin Medal, the equivalent of the Victoria Cross for animals.20
- The Medical Bunny
Medical Insight Dogs are taught to detect illness-related smells. In 2014, studies revealed that their perceptive noses could identify particles as small as one part per trillion, which is comparable to a single teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic-sized swimming pools.21
Domestic animals, like Dory, a 9.5 kg house rabbit from Cambridgeshire, can also pick up on behavioral changes in their owners. She leaped onto Simon Steggall’s chest in 2004 as she became aware that he was going into a diabetic coma and started tapping him. Victoria, Simon’s wife, had assumed that her husband was only asleep, but Dory’s strange behavior convinced her that something wasn’t right. She called paramedics since she couldn’t wake her spouse on her own.22
These expressions of awareness and care between the animal kingdom and humans have a poignant quality. An additional level of complexity in our symbiotic relationship with the animal species is the instinctive need of wild animals to save and protect humans, which is harder to explain than that of a pet warning its owner of a potential threat.
