A Florida dog has been hailed a hero after guiding a sheriff’s deputy through the dark to find his injured grandmother, who had fallen while walking him.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) said in a Facebook post that the incident unfolded in the Shalimar area when a woman took her son’s dog, Eeyore, outside one evening.
But when she tripped and fell on the sidewalk, she was unable to get back up.
Her worried husband called authorities after she didn’t return home, prompting deputies to begin searching the neighborhood. One officer spotted Eeyore and quickly got hold of him, asking him to show her where the missing woman was.
The deputy’s body camera footage shows the loyal dog leading her straight to the spot where his owner’s mother had fallen.
“Sometimes heroes come with four legs and a wagging tail,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “When a local senior citizen took a tumble and injured herself while walking her son’s dog one night recently in the Shalimar area, it was a faithful four-legged friend who brought an OCSO deputy to her location.”
In the video, the deputy explained to the woman how Eeyore had led her to the location, and the injured woman was overcome with emotion.
“He wouldn’t leave, he kept coming back to me,” the injured woman said in the body camera footage. “Oh sweetheart, good boy. I’m not even his owner—I’m his grandmother. Oh Eeyore, you’re a good boy, grandma loves you.”
The sheriff’s office praised the dog’s instincts, noting that his devotion helped bring the woman the assistance she needed.
Research has shown that dogs often demonstrate behaviors that suggest care and concern for their human companions. A 2020 study in PLOS ONE found that many pet dogs attempted to “rescue” their owners when they appeared distressed and trapped, highlighting the strong emotional bonds and empathetic responses dogs can display.
This is backed up in reality, too, as many dogs have been reported to come to their humans’ aid. In 2023, a Virginia family of five were saved from a boat fire by their rescue dog, Moose, who alerted them in time to escape. While last year a dog saved the life of her 84-year-old “best friend” when he fell and injured his leg during a walk in Stevens County, Washington.
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