Woman recounts how her childhood pet daringly rescued her father from a frozen river

The true meaning of a reliable companion.

Anybody who has had a dog for a pet will know about the unconditional love that a dog can give. They display unwavering loyalty and a deep bond with their owners. These canine companions will often go to great lengths to protect, comfort and please their human companions. The connection between an individual and their dog transcends language and species. There is truly no other comparable bond than the one shared between a dog and its owner. This relationship is a testament to just how pure animals can be.

Pet saved their human's life

u/lightningbug3 shared a story about their childhood dog who rescued their dad, responding to a question about the kindest thing an animal had done for them. They mention that the dog was a "big malamute/wolf mix" and quite smart. The dog was basically their parent's "practice child." The individual and their family lived way out in the woods. Their father had to go out quite often to chop firewood to keep their house warm when it got really cold. The incident left quite an impression on the family for many years.

An accidental fall into a frozen river

Their father happened to be gathering firewood next to the river one day. This was during winter, so everything was frozen. He was trying to get a madrone that had fallen into the frozen river. They write, "Normally he's really careful about stuff like this, but everyone makes mistakes I guess." They state how the log slipped, breaking the ice and causing the man to go straight into the frozen river wearing heavy boots and a winter coat. Their father recalled not being able to tell where the edge was and sinking fast with ice breaking around him.

A "yank" that saved the man's life

The man was struggling to make sense of the situation when he suddenly felt a "yank on the back of his coat." Soon, his head came out on top and he was able to breathe. The loyal dog had run out onto the cracking ice without any care for its own safety and dragged the father back to safety. They conclude the post by saying, "He managed to drive home, dripping and shivering and that dog was eating steak for a week." People on the site loved the story and the comment has gained over 5.2K upvotes. 

Ranch dog saves a life

u/FunnyMiss replied to u/lightningbug3 with their own story of their grandparent's dog. Their grandparents lived on a ranch for a large part of their lives and had many dogs over the years. One that the individual fondly remembers was Caesar, a pure-bred boxer. The dog loved being on the ranch. They write, "He'd go with my uncles and grandpa to herd the sheep, check the chicken coops, etc. He was always following them around." One day, their grandpa went to fix a piece of fence that was far enough from their house that yelling from there couldn't be heard from someone inside the house.

Caesar to the rescue

The grandpa slipped on his shoe and fell while fixing the fence. He ended up breaking most of his ribs and had a deep wound on one side. He couldn't get up because of his injuries. The grandmother could hear Caesar barking frantically outside the door. As soon as she opened the door, the dog began to tug at her shirt and pulled her along to the injured man. Thanks to Caesar, she was able to take him to hospital. They conclude by saying, "Caesar was a very good boy that day."