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Dog Stops Woman From Committing Suicide


silentchild
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A French woman's loyal German Shepherd dog saved her from committing suicide by knocking aside a rifle she tried to fire into her heart, local police said.

English language news website thelocal said the woman, 62, had fired several test shots then turned the gun on her chest.

"At the moment she pulled the trigger, her dog jumped on her and diverted the shot," a local police officer told AFP, adding that the dog "probably sensed things and knocked into her to save her."

The woman was found by her husband, conscious but suffering from a chest wound. She was taken to hospital but her injury is not considered life-threatening.

According to the police the dog was "deeply affected" by the actions of her owner.

Source : http://au.news.yahoo...itting-suicide/

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Colour me skeptical. :shrug:

How would a dog know a gun is lethal?

I think it's probably more the fact that the dog would be totally freaked by the sound of the prior shots etc and 'attacked' the dog. I don't think the dog knew it was saving her life necessarily but I still think it's an awesome story and dog.

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I dont know about this case but I think my bitch smelled a change in the ex and perhaps his strange behaviour made her unsettled. For what ever reason she did not want him mucking around with the cord and when he wouldnt stop she switched to barking, whining and pulling at him. Basically annoyed and got in the way enough he gave up. He didnt actually live here at the time.

Another time during an episode he came at me to shove me and she started running up and nipping him. She hasnt done this any other time.

I think perhaps they smell the chemical imbalance in someone and become very aggitated by the strange behaviour. So I can see the dog say lunging at the gun or owner and knocking it. It doesnt really matter. The dog reacted for what ever reason and its behaviour saved the owners life.

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I think perhaps they smell the chemical imbalance in someone and become very aggitated by the strange behaviour. So I can see the dog say lunging at the gun or owner and knocking it. It doesnt really matter. The dog reacted for what ever reason and its behaviour saved the owners life.

Funny you should say that. Some time back, our tibbie, Angel, screamed ballistically, from the side fence. I thought a snake had got her. Found her attention on a lost toddler standing in the middle of the road outside... & we live on a blind corner in a street used as a short-cut. I just got her off the road, when a van flew around the bend. The little dog saved that child's life. But my question was.... how did she know the child was in danger. She never barked at people on the footpath or street outside. When I asked the vet, he said the same as you. Dogs can smell anxiety. The little girl had 'frozen' with fear, we think, when she wandered away from the house she'd been visiting. Angel didn't even know her.

There's presently a p/b tibbie boy, Willow, who's come into rescue (family devastated by Bundaberg floods). At his home property, one of the children cut themselves very badly...& the little dog ran from the child up to the house, then back again... & kept on doing this screaming barking until someone realised something was wrong & followed him. How do dogs know? Is it being able to smell the anxiety?

Edited by mita
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I remember back, when I had my horse riding accident, that my dog and bitch went berserk so bad that the neighbour way across the road came to see what was going on, and was able to drive me to the hospital. She said that she had never heard them bark in such a way before, so she just knew that something had happened. She could see our field from her windows, where I was riding the horses, but she said that she didn't even look out the windows. She just heard the dogs and come running.

Another time, one of our horses had got into the bull's barn and had chased him out, but then couldn't remember how to get out himself (he wasn't the smartest of horses.) I had sent the dogs after the bull, but when I was trying to lead the horse out, he started cow-kicking at me, and I told him off. The dogs must have heard something different in my voice, because they came back lightening fast to get between the two of us.

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I remember back, when I had my horse riding accident, that my dog and bitch went berserk so bad that the neighbour way across the road came to see what was going on, and was able to drive me to the hospital. She said that she had never heard them bark in such a way before, so she just knew that something had happened. She could see our field from her windows, where I was riding the horses, but she said that she didn't even look out the windows. She just heard the dogs and come running.

That's how I'd describe our little dog's bark when she spotted the lost toddler ... I'd never heard her make such a noise before, or since.

More a scream than a bark.

I bet if someone collected similar stories like we've experienced, there'd be a lot of them. Dogs of all sorts & sizes, picking up that someone is in mortal danger & summoning help. Somehow they pick up the signals ...

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Dog behaviour follows the same general principles as human behaviour. There are individual differences and it's never context free.

Which means that unpicking the variables in specific situations come down to educated guessing. And it's why individual cases are not considered generalizable.

There is no way that some scientifically rigorous interpretation of the GSD's behaviour can be made. All that's factual is the outcome ... dog's behaviour knocked a gun away at a crucial moment.

Why the dog acted like that remains educated guessing. Those who say it had nothing to do with any 'awareness' that it was a dangerous situation, are making an educated guess.... same as those who say the dog reacted after scenting danger.

Edited by mita
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