#30. Khan's Story
Khan, the Doberman had a bad reputation because of his breed, but eventually he proved everyone wrong. His story begins with the Svillicics, a family with a newborn baby, Charlotte. When she was born, her parents didn't want her to grow up alone, so, they thought it would be a good idea to adopt a pet.
The parents went to the local shelter and instantly felt a connection with a Doberman. The shelter warned them about thow Dobermans are known for being very aggressive, but the dog didn't seem aggressive at all.The shelter also told them that the dog would be put down in just a few days, so they took him home and named him "Khan".
#29. Adopting A Pet
Catherine, Charlotte's mom, had a dog growing up and wanted her daughter to have the same experience she did as a child. What was difficult was picking what kind of dog to adopt, and the fact that she had taken a Doberman home had her a little worried. Khan seemed like a good match, but she saw red flags in the back of her mind.
The key to knowing whether this was a good idea or not was seeing if Khan was good with children. Dobermans are excellent guard dogs, but are not exactly famous for being child-friendly. And at the beginning, it really felt as though adopting Khan was a mistake, but then everything would change...
#28. A Bad Reputation
The shelter warned Catherine over and over, but all she could see was a harmless dog trapped in a shelter, about to be put down. The shelter also let her know that Khan came from a very abusive home and had been rescued just before it was too late. This really touched her heart and turned her protective instinct on.
She was saving his life by taking him home, and she was very happy about it. The first days Khan was home, everything was perfect. Still, Khan had to be slowly introduced to Charlotte, who was a small toddler. Their first meeting went great, and Khan couldn't stop wagging his tail and Charlotte was all smiles.
#27. A Painful Past
Khan followed little Charlotte wherever she went and acted as her personal bodyguard. The two loved frolicking around the yard and on the floor, and even shared a bed at night. Sadly, there was an incident that would make Catherine doubt what she had done and almost got Khan back in the shelter.
In the past, Khan was malnourished due to the amount of abuse he had suffered at the hands of his previous owners. Because he was a purebred Doberman, he had been sold by a breeder to a very problematic home. Dogs who suffered from abuse tend to lash out as a defensive mechanism, and that can be extremely dangerous with a child around.
#26. Worst Fears Come True
Khan was a very good dog, but because of his painful past, he could lash out at every moment. Catherine's worst fears one day came true, and she did not know how to react. She was in the kitchen watching over Charlotte and Khan through the window playing outside in the garden.
Then, all of a sudden, Khan knocked Charlotte over, grabbed her by the diaper, and started thrashing her around. Catherine was shocked and horrified, and her first instinct was to run out and try to stop him. However, by the time she got there, Khan had already thrown Charlotte across the garden and was howling very loudly.
#25. The Truth
Catherine ran towards Charlotte, who had been flung across the garden by Khan. When she got to her, she was very relieved because the toddler was perfectly fine, but Khan suddenly howled in pain and collapsed on the ground. She then realized something was very wrong with Khan, and she ran to his aid.
Her quick thinking actually saved Khan's life for the time being, but they weren't out of the woods yet. She took him to the vet and the race to save his life began. The doctors inspected him and found something shocking: he had bite marks on his right paw. Khan had been attacked by something, but what?
#24. The Attacker
The bite marks on Khan's paw looked like snake bites. A regular snake bite wouldn't have been a big deal, but this was the work of a venomous snake, and his life was hanging by a thread. The venom was working its way through Khan's veins and was slowly leaving him paralyzed. If it kept spreading, Khan would lose his life.
Luckily, the vets had enough anti-venom for him and quickly pumped his veins full of it. After that, all that was left to do was let it work and hope Khan would get better. He laid paralyzed on a table, and the doctors didn't really know whether he would make it. Catherine had acted fast, but perhaps it was still too late to save him.
#23. Identifying The Snake
It was important for the vets to know what kind of venomous snake had attacked Khan, because that would help them treat his condition better. A sample of the venom found in Khan's system was sent to a lab, and while Khan was in recovery, the sample was analyzed.
The results came back fairly quickly and revealed that the attacker had been a mulga snake, also known as a king brown snake. These snakes are among the deadliest animals in the world. When Catherine heard the news from the doctor, she realized what had really happened that day.
#22. Khan Is Redeemed
At first, Catherine thought that Khan lashed out at Charlotte because of his traumatizing past and attacked her viciously, but that was far from the truth. He actually was trying to save her from a dangerous snake! It is believed that, while they were playing in the garden, Khan saw something move towards them and acted quickly.
His first instinct was not to protect himself but to protect the toddler, so he grabbed her by the diaper, so as not to hurt her, and threw her as far as he could to keep her from harm. Unfortunately, the snake got to him and bit him on the paw. He knew what was coming, but he decided to save Charlotte instead of himself.
#21. Fighting For His Life
Catherine felt terrible for doubting Khan and only hoped that he would get better, but he had a long road ahead of him. She also felt very bad for believing what the people at the shelter told her, and she realized that she had made the right choice from the very beginning. Khan was a hero, and her family was lucky to have him.
When the incident happened, Khan had only been living with them for four days, but it felt as he had always been part of the family, and the bond they all formed was extremely strong. What could they do if Khan didn't make it? He had just gotten a new life with a new family, after suffering abuse and neglect from a horrible owner before them.
#20. The Three Possibilities
Due to Khan's condition, there were only three possible outcomes. The first and best one was that Khan would make a full recovery and live a great life with his family. The second one, was that he would sadly lose his life. But there was a third one that was even scarier than the second one somehow: he could be paralyzed forever.
It all depended on the amount of venom that was in his body. The third scenario was very likely because he was a large dog, and the venom was probably not enough to kill him, but enough to leave him paralyzed. The key to his recovery was making it through the first long night.
#19. The First Night
After Khan was injected with anti-venom, all the vets and the Svicillics could do is wait and hope for the best. He had to spend the night at the best and be under surveillance to see whether he was getting better and hopefully not worse. His family had to go back home and wait for the vets to call them with updates.
After a sleepless night, they received the good news that Khan had survived the hardest night of his recovery. In fact, he was doing even better than expected, and was already recovering his strength. It seemed that Khan would make a full recovery and be able to play with his BFF, Charlotte, in just a couple weeks.
#18. An International Hero
His story somehow got out and several news outlets heard about the heroic dog that saved a little child's life from a venomous snake. He was named "Khan, the Wonder Dog" and his story went viral around the world thanks to Facebook. Khan never expected anything in return for his actions, and only wanted to get back to Charlotte.
After investigating Khan's past, his family discovered that heroism actually ran in his family, as his grandfather also saved a child's life in the past. Nowadays, Charlotte and Khan are still super close and love spending their days together. Their bond will always be super strong! Up next is a story of another very brave dog who saved her owner from grave danger.
#17. Nala, The Hero
A boy named Cole decided to take his beloved dog, Nala, with him to ride his bike in Northern California, his hometown. The two were going their usual route when suddenly, a Mojave rattlesnake came out of nowhere and tried to attack Cole. The first time, the snake missed, but when it jumped again, the snake managed to attack.
However, it didn't get to Cole, because Nala jumped in between the two and got the bite. Cole panicked and didn't know what to do with poor Nala. He decided he couldn't handle the situation and ran back to the house to get his stepdad, Anthony. The two got into Anthony's car and drove to Nala to the vet.
#16. Staying Strong
Nala was taken into the emergency room and the vets gave her some anti-venom. Much like what happened with Khan, doctors needed to wait and see whether Nala would recover. She was put in a hyperbaric chamber, which is designed to boost someone's healing processes, for a whole day.
Healthcare is expensive, and this applies to animals just as much as humans. The vet expenses were too much for Cole's family to handle, so they had to set a Go Fund Me page to take care of her treatment. Her story got a lot of attention, and people happily donated to save this heroic dog's life.
#15. The Reunion
Luckily, the family got enough money through the Go Fund Me to pay for all her medical expenses. Now, they just had to wait for her to recover. After a whole week of waiting and worrying, the vets said Nala was healthy enough to go home to her loving family. When she saw her best friend, Cole, again, she couldn't contain her joy and jumped on him and waggled her tail for minutes.
Cole now has an even stronger bond with Nala and is now much more careful about where he takes her for walks. He has also created a Facebook page to warn locals about the trail where Nala was attacked. For our next story, we will look at the bravest little dog in Japan who saved his owner's life.
#14. Babu, Tiny And Powerful
This adorable little Shih Tzu is called Babu, and she is from Japan. She lived with her owner, Tami Akanuma, and they only had each other and always looked after one another, and at 83 years old, Tami's only family was little Babu. They lived quiet lives until something strange happened on March 11, 2011.
Every morning, Babu and Tami went for a walk in the morning but for some reason, Babu was signaling to Tami that she wanted to go for their walk a little earlier than usual. She didn't know it at the time, but taking Babu for a walk earlier would actually be a life-saving event for Tami...
#13. A Sixth Sense
As soon as Tami opened the door, Babu quickly got out and went in a different direction that the one they usually took. This was already strange, but it got even stranger. Because Tami was 83 years old, she obviously wasn't very fast. Also, she pulled at the leash to make her go faster.
If Tami stopped or walked slower, Babu would either pull on the leash or turn around and stare at her until she picked up her pace. Tami felt that Babu knew exactly what she was doing, and so she was confident in her smart, loyal dog. Babu led her through an unusual, long road where they had never walked through before.
#12. Babu's Heroic Action
After walking for a long time, Babu led Tami up a hill. Despite her age, Tami managed to climb up with Babu to the very top of the hill. Only a few minutes later, something horrible happened: a tsunami hit their town, Miyako, which was very close to the coast. Because Tami and Babu were on top of the hill, they were unharmed.
Large parts of their town, including their house, were destroyed because of the natural disaster. Somehow, Babu had sensed that something bad was coming and she led Tami to the safest place in town. There is no logical explanation as to how Babu knew what was going on, but what matters is that she saved Tami's life.
#11. The Story of Peanut
Peanut arrived at the Delta Animal Shelter in Escanaba, Michigan, in very poor condition. She had been rescued from a very abusive home that completely neglected her. When she got there, she had two broken legs, and her stomach was full of carpet because she had no food to eat, and so the only thing she could eat was the carpet.
At the shelter, they changed her name to Peanut as a way of leaving her past behind and giving her a new life. She slowly recovered and became a happy puppy that couldn't wait to meet her forever family, and eventually, she did. Meanwhile, her former owner was convicted of animal abuse, and her past was officially behind her.
#10. Peanut Is Adopted
One morning seemed like any other, but something incredible happened: Peanut was adopted. A woman came in and instantly fell in love with the sweet puppy. She made all the arrangements on the spot and took her home with her. it didn't take long before Peanut got comfortable around the house and with her new family, and she formed a strong bond with each and every one of them.
One day, she started acting very strange. Around 11 in the morning, she suddenly ran up and down the stairs, yelped and barked constantly, and just went crazy. When one of her family members went up to her to see what was happening, she signaled to him that she wanted to go outside. Why would she be so desperate to leave the house?
#9. Something Is Up
She had never acted like that, even when she was very excited about going out. Her owner decided to trust her instincts and opened the door for the nervous dog to go out. As soon as he opened the door, Peanut ran outside and went in the direction of their backyard.
There was a field behind the house, and that's where Peanut was heading. She seemed very distressed and her owners were afraid she would just run away, so they decided to follow her into this field. They had no idea what was going on, but what they found there was something they never thought they would find.
#8. The Discovery
Peanut was frantically running through the field, looking for something. One of her owners followed her, and then saw that Peanut suddenly stopped. He walked up to her, and finally discovered what Peanut was looking for. In the middle of the field, there was a ditch, and inside that ditch, they found something shocking.
A toddler was lying in the ditch, shivering. That day, the temperature was extremely low, and the small child was probably suffering from hypothermia. The man wrapped her in her jacket and quickly called 911. He had no idea what had happened to the girl and it was important to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.
#7. The Little Girl
The girl was obviously recovering from the hypothermia, so she couldn't say much. The three-year-old still had enough strength to mutter the word "doggie" over and over. She knew that Peanut had saved her, and she was extremely grateful. It wasn't easy, but the girl recovered from the hypothermia and no other injuries were found.
After the girl was saved, a search for her parents began. They were finally found and deemed not suitable to care for her, so the girl was put in foster care with a loving family that took care of her. She got better and better as time went by and forgot all about what happened.
#6. Honoring Peanut
Her owners never figured out how Peanut knew that the little girl was abandoned in that ditch and needed their help. Maybe it was some kind of sixth sense that dogs have, or maybe a coincidence, but what they knew for sure was that Peanut was a hero.
Peanut's family told her story to local news outlets and also created a Facebook page to honor her. They also wrote the shelter where they adopted her from to thank them for placing her in their lives. Our next hero dog was only three months old when she saved an entire family.
#5. Little Hunter
Tim and Jill McLarty wanted to bring someone new into their family, but weren't sure if adopting a small puppy would be a good idea. But when the married couple met Hunter, a three-month-old Husky mix, they fell in love on the spot. He was so adorable and sweet that they just had to take him home.
He was just so cute! He was a bit too much to handle, but which puppy isn't? The three of them got along great and loved spending time together. And just a few days after coming into their lives, Hunter would also prove to be a true hero. It is rare for such young puppies to do something so great, but Hunter was one of a kind.
#4. What Is Going On?
Hunter was as energetic as any other puppy, so the McLartys didn't think much of it when one night, Hunter started barking and whining by their bed. When Jill finally got up, Hunter led her downstairs while still barking. Jill was confused but realized that Hunter really wanted her to see something, so she went along with it.
Hunter made his way into the kitchen, so Jill figured that he just wanted some food. She filled up his bowl and went back to her room, but Hunter was still whining and trying to get her attention. Then, it dawned on her that one of the burners on the stove had been left on.
#3. A Smart Puppy
When making dinner, she probably had forgotten to turn off the burner, and this caused gas to leak into the kitchen for hours. If Hunter had not woken them up, the gas would've filled up the house and they could've choked to death. When she turned the burner off, Hunter suddenly calmed down and was ready to go to sleep.
The smart puppy knew exactly what he was doing, and he saved his family's lives. If he had not noticed that the burner was still on, all of them could've lost their lives. His humans fell in love with him even more after that incident, and they always trusted his gut. Next up is the smartest Golden Retriever in history.
#2. Kelsey, The Golden Retriever
Michigan can get very cold, especially in January. The roads usually get icy and it is very dangerous to walk on them. A man named Bob learned this the hard way when he went outside, slipped and fell, injuring himself badly. In fact, he broke his neck, an injury which could be fatal without the proper medical attention.
Bob could not move at all and could only scream for help. The night was windy and dark, so nobody was outside. No one seemed to hear his cries for help, until someone showed up: his Golden Retriever, Kelsey. She quickly sat behind him to keep him warm. She also began barking, hoping that someone would hear them.
#1. A Happy Ending
Sadly, the hours went by, and nobody showed up. Bob eventually lost his voice from all the yelling and fell asleep, but Kelsey stood her ground and kept him warm the whole time. Once the morning came, she noticed that someone was close, and so she barked again. Luckily, a man found them and called an ambulance.
The doctors concluded after examining Bob that if Kelsey hadn't kept him warm all night, Bob would have lost his life. Not only that, but the man who found them said that he only did so because he heard Kelsey's incessant barking. Bob was taken into surgery and after a few days in the hospital, he made a full recovery.