When it comes to man’s best friend, we are used to seeing them standing up for us. Dogs have been used in society as more than just a companion for millennia, and it is highly likely that they were first domesticated in order to serve as a working animal for small human villages, potentially assisting on hunts or keeping rodent populations in check. In our modern world, they have a number of important jobs, including sniffer dogs whose exceptional noses allow them to isolate and locate bombs and drugs; assistance dogs who help the disabled continue to lead a relatively normal and independent life; sheepdogs who work hard to help manage and herd flocks; and guard dogs who spend their life protecting us from harm. Simply put, we owe dogs a lot.
For one lucky dog in Oak Park, Illinois, however, one firefighter just repaid that debt. In an incredible display of bravery and selflessness, the team worked to rescue a dog who had been trapped in the heart of the inferno that had been consuming his family’s residential building. The dog was in poor shape, but that didn’t stop them; they gave him oxygen and fought to save his life, treating him as an individual who was just as important as any human casualty.
