A New York service dog is now being hailed a hero after
saving his blind owner from an oncoming mini school bus.
The Brewster, New York, school bus was carrying two
kindergartners to St. Lawrence O’Toole Childhood Learning Center when the
service dog, Bigo, became alert. The driver reportedly didn’t see Bigo and his
owner, Audrey Stone, crossing the road on Monday morning, so Bigo leapt into
action.
“I don’t know if [the driver] thought [Stone] was going to
move faster, but it looks like the dog tried to take most of the hit for her,”
Paul Schwartz, a manager at the Xtra Mart gas station near the intersection
where Stone was hit, said.
When Schwartz reached the scene of the crash, Stone’s head
was bleeding and she was complaining about pain from her hip. In photos, the
driver’s side wheel and intersection of the accident are covered in dog fur.
“There were 15 EMTs and people all around her and the dog
didn’t want to leave her side,” Shwartz said. “He was flopping over to her and
she didn’t want him to get away from her, either. She kept screaming, ‘Where’s
Bigo? Where’s Bigo? Where’s Bigo?’ We kept telling her he was fine.”
Schwartz added that Bigo was a good sport as EMTs bandaged
his right leg. He never barked or yelped, but simply allowed the EMTs to work
without complaint. However, Bigo appeared lost once Stone was pulled away in
the ambulance, Schwartz noted.
Bigo was taken to the vet in a fire truck, where he
underwent surgery on his leg. Stone is also currently being treated.
The driver of the bus has since been given a summons for
failing to yield to a pedestrian.
