We all know how important it is to help others. When we help people, it is always a mutual benefit because not only do we help solve others' issues, but also feel a sense of fulfillment ourselves after doing so. And just like humans need help from others, there comes a time when animals need help too. A man wanted this dog to move, but the canine would not budge. He got a little curious and looked into the matter a little deeper to find out something astonishing...
So when the first time came for Martin to take Charlie the dog for a walk, something happened. He just took him to take a stroll around their small estate. But when Martin returned, he came home alone. He was also panting and weeping. “Where’s Charlie?” His mother immediately asked as she brushed the hair off of his sweaty face. “H-he’s outside,” he replied.
And then, when his mother was informed about Charlie's whereabouts, she told him to take her there And so, his mother took Martin's hand and they stormed down the road to locate Charlie the dog. When they finally spotted him, they saw that he was playing with a neighbor’s Alsation. She was heartbroken. There was no chance of her son being able to play worry free if such a fearsome animal was always there.
And since she knew that her son would always be in fear of other animals or dogs, it was going to be troublesome at times. He needed to get over his fear of other dogs. And so, she decided to sign him up for training classes in their local town where Martin would learn how to treat his dog better. More importantly, Martin would be exposed to other canines and their owners too...
And so, since Martin was exposed to other dogs and people, his anxiety and fear got a little manageable. He slowly started to feel less fearful of being around other dogs. His walks with Charlie alone did not make him as anxious anymore and he stopped running off every time another dog approached to get a friendly smell. However, as an adult, he was still not fully comfortable.
And after get went to the training, Martin was able to bear being around other dogs more and more. His fears did not consume him like before. He was not in fear for the safety of his life, but that did not mean that he was okay with random animals around him either. Charlie's irrational fears were slowly mellowing down. He did some self-reflection and was aware of how ludicrous he was.
After spending time with other animals more and more, Martin slowly loosened up a bit. He took some time to work on himself and now, he could see that most animals were harmless. However, he could still sense his heart beating faster each time he crossed paths with a stray. And on his way home to work, Martin found himself in a very confusing situation.
So what exactly happened that day Martin made his way home to Charlie? Well, it was certainly an experience that he would not forget anytime soon. He was walking all by himself on some back roads in Coulterville, California, which was a very remote area. “I didn’t know which road to take, so I just picked one,” he later described.
As Martin was returning home, he could not wait to get to his darling dog, Charlie. But, he met something, rather, someone on the way home. There he spotted something strange that took his attention. “That’s when I noticed there was a dog just laying in the center of the dirt road out in the middle of nowhere,” Martin explained. The dog looked drained with its paws folded. How could he walk away?
Martin got a little scared of the dog like he had always been with strays. And as an attempt to clear his path, Martin threw sandwiches to the roadside in the hopes that the dog would run towards it. However, the dog refused to do so. “Shoo! Shoo!” he screamed. In another attempt to scare away the dog, Martin stomped the ground as hard as he could. But nothing happened still.
After taking a closer inspection of the dog, Martin saw a leash hanging from its collar. What could this mean? He looked around but saw no signs of the dog's owner too. What had happened to the dog and why was it lying there, motionless in the middle of nowhere? Martin got inside his car and started his engine. But his mind was still wondering why the dog behaved that way...
And in an interview he gave later, Martin explained what exactly happened when he encountered the dog. "Something inside me said, ‘Try again,’" Martin revealed, "It was like the dog was saying, ‘Everything is wrong. My owner is around here somewhere. Don’t leave yet.’ So, I got out of the truck and started another video. That’s when I heard something."
And so when his gut told him not to drive off, Martin knew he had to do something. After all, he knew he would not be able to shake off the experience he had that time even if he wanted to. And so Hall got out of his car to clarify his doubt. He then followed a howling sound coming from a little further. And what he saw there was absolutely shocking. He found a dog lying beside an old man! What was going on here?
And so Martin was startled but rushed quickly towards the old man. He gave him some water and this old man was able to share his tale. He told Martin that he had unfortunately fallen from the road and down the hill. He had injured his legs and could not move. He told Martin that he had been waiting 7 hours for a passerby to notice his cries. But no one seemed to hear...
It was fortunate for him that his two dogs understood the fact that he was in trouble. And the old man needed to get some help as he could not even stand up. He had ordered one of his dogs to give him shade from the blistering sun while the other one had to stand by the road to hopefully get some help. Martin was blown away by their obedience and loyalty. But he still needed to act quick...
Since Martin did not know how to handle the situation by himself, he did what he thought would be most helpful. He quickly took his phone out and called 911. And when the emergency services reached the site, they were not able to take the old man’s two best friends along. “Could you watch them for a few hours? I’ll get my daughter to pick them up this evening. They’re really no bother at all!” he pleaded Martin.
And like we must have already guessed, Martin felt a little uneasy. He did not know if he was capable of handling the two dogs by himself. There was another concern that was swirling around his head too. Would his dear dog be okay with two play dates? Would he himself be able to look after the dogs and maintain his cool? “Okay,” Martin responded as he took the dogs' leashes.
And since this was the first time ever that Martin was handling someone else's dogs, he was nervous and a little scared too. He could feel his body shake as he planted the two pups in the boot of his car. The two dogs were howling as he drove away from their owner. He had to calm himself as his grip on the driving wheel tightened. He had to convince himself that they were harmless.
He had to control the thought on his mind and tell himself that these dogs would not harm him. He was restless the whole way home while driving the car. And upon reaching home, Martin gave the two pups some much-needed water. Afterward, they basked in the sun with Charlie in Martin's garden. Martin then thought about what the old man's fate would have been if he had not gone to inspect...
Martin had a lot to take in that day. He took charge of his fears and took the dogs in. He did some self-reflection after the incident. "There was just a series of events that took place to put me there," Martin stated, "It was kind of overwhelming, after the fact, how everything transpired to bring me there at that point." The old man's daughter then came to pick the dogs up the very same day as he said she would.
And when she got there to fetch the dogs, she extended her gratitude toward Martin. She was grateful for his kindness. Martin looked to this incident as a sign. The normal thing he would do was to avoid any stray dog he met. However, for some reason, it was impossible for him to ignore the dog. All in all, this story is a good reminder that helping someone is always a reward.
With this story in mind, here are a few jobs that dogs have mastered performing...
There are so many different kinds of service dogs. Dogs have taken duties as Mobility Assistance, Hearing Dogs, Guide Dogs, Seizure Alert, Psychiatric Service, Autism Dogs, and some pups can even detect peanut allergies. All these dogs work hard in improving the lives of their human owners to have a more independent way of living.
Have you ever heard of therapy dogs? Well, if you have not, these dogs are certified comforters and have been trained to give individuals in hospitals a calming company. People at nursing homes and in other stressful situations also have such dogs. There is no specific breed of dog to become a certified therapy dog. They just need to be fond of humans and be able to master obedience commands.
So these dogs are one of the most useful dogs that make use of their heightened sense of empathy to help humans. These trained Search and Rescue dogs get a whiff of the scent of missing individuals in the wilderness, in hazardous weather, debris and even underwater. They help solve many mysteries as humans are incapable of doing so. They help to locate people who are either living or dead using their strong sense of smell.
Dogs have the ability to help with farming and animal rearing too. Many breeds have helped humans to drive several kinds of livestock that include cattle, sheep, reindeer, and fowl. And the most popular breeds used for herding are Australian Cattle Dogs, Border Collies, and Kelpies.
There is yet another job that dog has been able to help out with. Well, sled dogs have always been used to explore terrains that are impossible to cross. These dogs are sent on the first expeditions to the north and south poles as well as Antarctica where it is impossible for humans to travel. In Alaska, sled dogs were used to deliver medications and supplies to the far-off towns.
There is another way dogs have become useful for. A lot of them have been used to represent groups and organizations from Universities to the Postal Service for so many years. The use of canines as a mascot has made the public to share a personal connection with the institution. We all know many breeds are used as mascots but the most popular has to be the bulldog!
We must all be aware that some breeds of dogs have been used to hunt along with their humans. Sighthounds have used “coursing” – a method where they run down their prey and kill it quickly. And also, scent hounds trail and leave the killing to the hunter. Setters and Spaniels have been well known to assist humans to hunt down their targets in bushes and in the wild.
There is one function that dogs flourish in. They can always be counted on when there is a need to guard just about anything. The Great Pyrenees looks after livestock while a Belgian Malinois usually helps the soldiers to make sure their surrounding was safe. Watchdogs would bark to scare off danger or use this as a signal. There is no specific breed fit for this work.
And there are some dogs that have been trained to fight. There is a concern for the safety of these dogs and that fighting is indeed a brutal and abusive way to keep dogs, but dog fighting is common, This is quite a dark subject, but since it exists, it must be on this list. These dogs are kept in the fighting pit where users take pride and glory in winning against another dog.
As we all know, dogs are quick runners. Greyhound racing is where dogs are made to run around a track and made to chase an artificial rabbit. However, since the concern for their well being has been raised, Greyhound racing has gradually become less popular. Just 9 states in the US are still continuing to hold this sport. People have also adopted a lot of these ex-racers.
One thing we must have all been fascinated with as kids will definitely be police dogs. cThese dogs play multiple roles such as enforcing public order, detection, search and rescue, and cadaver detection. We usually see the breed of German Shepherds as a police k-9, other breeds are used in the police forces – Malinois, Labs, Bloodhounds and Beagles among others.
Dogs of war have fought with soldiers in every conflict. They have taken part in both foreign and domestic conflicts, wherein some are actually 'listed' while some are not. Wards dogs serve so many jobs so one cannot just give a single purpose of theirs. They are made to send messages, guard perimeters, attack enemies, detection, and even boosting morale!
There are so many dogs that are used for this purpose. Several breeds have undergone special training to master the art of pulling carts. There are some dogs that are just better at this job than others. The breed of dogs that are excellent in carting is Bernese Mountain Dogs, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, Huskies or other working breeds.
So what do you understand by the word “Terrier”? Well, this word originated from Latin and its meaning roughly translates to “of the earth”. So we all know how terriers are by nature. These dogs are fearless and feisty and belong to the smaller breeds of dogs. They have always been good at keeping lands free from pests ever since time immemorial.
On the topic of entertainment, we all know that the number of pups that have entertained us is a large figure. Whether it was on television, we saw Lassie, Rin, Tin Tin and even Eddie from “Frasier” or even on the movie screens, we had “Hooch”, “Beethoven” and many others. We all know how jolly these dogs make us feel. Without dogs, life would have been so empty!