PHOENIX - "Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy _
a German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner's
life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure. And it's not the
first time Buddy has been there for owner Joe Stalnaker, a police
officer said Sunday. On a recording of the 911 call Wednesday,
Buddy is heard whimpering and barking after the dispatcher answers
and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help.
"Hello, this is 911. Hello ... Can you hear me? Is there
somebody there you can give the phone to," says the dispatcher,
Chris Trott.
Police were sent to Stalnaker's home, and after about three
minutes Buddy is heard barking loudly when the officers
arrived.
Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Stalnaker spent two days
in a hospital and recovered from the seizure.
"It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran
dispatchers _ they haven't heard of anything like this."
Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but
that Stalnaker's address was flagged in Scottsdale's system with a
notification that a trained assistance dog could call 911 when the
owner was incapacitated.
Clark said Stalnaker adopted Buddy at the age of 8 weeks from
Michigan-based Paws with a Cause, which trains assistance dogs, and
trained him to get the phone if he began to have seizure symptoms.
Buddy, now 18 months old, is able press programmed buttons until a
911 operator is on the line, Clark said.
Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was
having seizures.
He said Stalnaker's seizures are the result of a head injury he
suffered about 10 years ago during a military training
exercise.
Stalnaker was not listed in the phone book, and he did not
immediately respond to a request through police for an
interview.
(This version CORRECTS name to Trott, sted Scott.)