The true story of the dog that saved three kids
‘The Lighter Side’ shares one positive and interesting story for kids and families every week. This week’s story is a real incident that took place on Aug 4, 2023 in Virginia, United States of America. Hope you enjoy reading it!
- ‘What’s new today’ podcast team
Moose had lost his owners. He was eight years old and a little scared to be left by himself. Luckily, there was a wonderful place in town that took him in, and gave him much love and care. Portsmouth Humane Society was a shelter where dogs and cats who had lost their owners could come and stay. Moose was a little nervous walking into the shelter the first day. He knew nobody there and wasn’t sure if the others would like him and play with him. The furry creatures (a.k.a dogs & cats) in the center understood what it felt like to have lost a family. They helped Moose settle in by nudging him to join them in a game of ‘chase’ and ‘jump into the pool fastest’. Slowly, Moose began to relax and made a few friends. Despite this, Moose still missed having a ‘forever family’ around.
One fine morning in August, Chris, Sheila and three children (Logan aged 12, Anya 10 and Luna 8) stopped by, at the animal center. The kids were looking forward to doing something different this weekend and asked if they could foster a dog for a day. Portsmouth Humane Society was just the place for this. Dogs here would often go with a foster family for a short picnic or a driving holiday or even a short stay at a home, for a few days. Even if it wasn’t a ‘forever’ home, it was a great way for the dogs to enjoy the outdoors and get a lot of love and attention from new humans.
When Chris ambled past the kennels, he stopped in front of Moose. ‘He had the kindest face’ thought Chris. The family of five settled on Moose as their furry friend for the weekend. Soon, Moose clambered into their car and away they went.
Moose thought he was going to stay the night in a home with a large garden or somewhere up the hill. But he was in for a huge surprise. This was no ordinary family with an ordinary home. This family lived on a houseboat! Moose was so excited that before they had even reached the gangplank leading to the boat, he jumped into the water and began chasing imaginary dolphins!
The kids squealed with delight and followed suit. For hours, they swam in the ocean, playing catch and throw, and chased the ever-fast Moose. By dinner time, they were exhausted and decided to call it a day. They clambered onto the houseboat and gobbled up their dinner in no time. Moose settled in for the night on a comfortable rug. The kids went back to reading their books after a cup of hot chocolate and went to bed.
Sometime in the wee hours of the night, Moose began to bark and nudge everyone on the boat. Logan, Sheila and Luna remained fast asleep. But the barking bothered Chris and Anya who got up to see what was annoying Moose at the dead of the night. Nobody had entered the houseboat, so there was certainly no thief aboard. They checked the boat for water leaking, and that too was ruled out.
But Moose kept barking incessantly and nudged them towards the deck on the other side. Anya decided to open the door and followed Moose outside. There she saw a sight that few could have imagined.
A fire was raging on a houseboat nearby. Chris and Anya raised an alarm and woke the other three up (and a few in the houseboats nearby). They picked up their most essential belongings and ran out into the night, and into safety. Some of their neighbours jumped into the water and swam ashore as their gangplanks had caught fire.
Just a few minutes after they had gotten out of the boat, the fire had spread to the beds where they had been sleeping. Nothing but ashes were left. Logan, Luna and Anya stood on the roadside watching the fire consume the boats. Moose stood by their side and licked them all as if to say ‘don’t worry. am happy to be the one to bark the loudest and annoy you in the middle of the night’ :)
In a few hours, the fire had been doused but their boat had been reduced to nothing. With no home left for themselves, let alone for Moose, the family of five piled into their car and got Moose to the Portsmouth Humane Centre. It was a tearful goodbye, but with a heartfelt note of thanks.
Trivia: Moose belongs to the breed of dogs called the Great Pyrenees. These dogs originated in the Pyrenees mountains of Europe, where they were trained to be guard dogs and could sense danger from afar.
P.S: I am happy to end this story with a lovely update. Just a few days ago, Moose was adopted by a farmer and his wife who read about this ‘hero-dog’. Moose now lives on a 5-acre farm along with four goats, 18 turkeys and 20 chickens that chase him around. Moose also has seven canine siblings and I am told that meal-times are a very noisy affair with a lot of chatter amongst them. Logan, Anya and Luna are planning a weekend trip to the farm to say ‘Hi’ to Moose and his friends.
P.P.S: Would you ever like to foster a dog just for a day or a weekend? Click ‘comment’ and scroll down to leave your answer. I’d love to hear them.