A rescue dog has paid it forward by saving the life of a 3-year old girl who was naked and freezing in a ditch.
Peanut is a 2-year old dog who found herself in a Michigan shelter one year ago, after having experienced extreme neglect and abuse.
Peanut arrived at the shelter with a stomach full of carpet, along with broken ribs and legs. All of her injuries occurred at different times. Thankfully, her owners were convicted of animal abuse, and she found her way into a loving home.
Now, one year later, she has done the rescuing.
Peanut’s owner reports that on March 17th, they were at their home in Escanaba, Michigan when Peanut started to behave oddly. She began barking uncontrollably, which was very out of character for her normally shy demeanor.
She then began running up and down the stairs while barking and yelping. Finally, her owner let her outside. As soon as the door opened, the dog bolted into the field behind the house; baffled, her owner followed her.
Peanut ran until she reached a ditch, and then looked at her owner.
He initially tried to pull on Peanut’s collar to get her to turn around and go back home, but when he looked more closely at the scene, he saw something horrific – a little girl, naked and curled into a ball. The temperature was freezing, and she was shivering.
The man acted quickly to jump into the ditch, wrap her in his shirt, and run back home (with peanut right behind him).
He and his family called 911, covering the girl in blankets to warm her while they waited for help to arrive.
When the ambulance arrived, all the little girl could say was, “doggie.”
The toddler was confirmed as not being injured, and was taken to a nearby hospital for tests. Meanwhile, the police went door-to-door attempting to find her parents. The parents were eventually located nearby.
Upon further investigation, it was determined that the parents’ house was unsafe, unsanitary, and unfit for children. The girl was kept from going back to her parents’ home, and her sister was removed from it. The two girls are now in the care of Child Protective Services.
The case is now in the hands of the Delta County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
The Delta Animal Shelter praised the dog and family for their heroic deed. Peanut was commended for her actions, and her family agreed that her “sixth sense” saved the life of this child.
One can’t be sure of what alerted Peanut to this girl’s distress. Dogs have senses which are much more heightened than our own. But one thing is for certain – Peanut saved the life of a little girl who was experiencing exactly what Peanut experienced, at exactly the same age.
This girl has been spared from a lifetime of neglect. And it is difficult for people to empathize with abuse or neglect suffered by people and pets, unless they themselves have endured some of that.
Perhaps in later years, this girl will be inspired to save more people and dogs from the horrors that she and her heroic savior Peanut have known.
