Pit bull saves owner from oncoming train
A Massachusetts pit bull is being credited with pulling her owner off the railroad tracks, saving her from an oncoming freight train.
And that, lest you find it hard to believe, is according to both the driver of the train and the woman’s son, a Boston police officer.
The woman survived, uninjured, but the dog — named Lilly — was severely hurt and lost a front leg.
Boston police officer David Lanteigne said he rescued Lilly from a shelter to serve as a companion for his mother, who suffers from alcoholism.
“We saved her life and she saved my mom’s life,” he told WCVB in Boston.
Lanteigne’s mother, Christine Spain, apparently fell unconscious onto train tracks in Shirley last Wednesday.
When help arrived, Lilly was covered in blood but still standing guard over her owner.
Lilly was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Acton, and later to Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.
“Lilly was either pushing or pulling my mother off the tracks,” said Lanteigne. “There wasn’t enough time and … just prior to the train making impact Lilly had intentionally gotten between the train and my mother, and had taken the hit.”
“I’m supposed to be the strong one. I’m supposed to be here for her, but she’s been so great, so tough through all this,” Lanteigne said of his dog. “It almost seems like she’s the one comforting me and being there for me and making me feel better.”
(Photo: Courtesy of Angell Animal Medical Center)
Posted by jwoestendiek May 9th, 2012 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: adopted, alcoholism, amputation, angell, animals, boston, christine spain, david lanteigne, dog, dogs, freight train, leg, lilly, lost, medical, mother, officer, owner, paw, pets, pit bull, pit bulls, pitbull, pitbulls, police, pulled, rescued, saved, saves, shirley, tracks, train, video
Comments
Comment from anon
Time May 9, 2012 at 11:50 am
A pitbull? Saved the owner? Ridiculous! Obviously she was trying to EAT the owner!
Comment from smoketoomuch
Time May 9, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Too bad this didn’t occur in Maryland. (Not that it would have made a difference – why confuse them with the facts?)
Comment from anonymous
Time May 9, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Anon your a sad person for thinking just because it was a pit bull that it was trying to eat her…… I have owned many pitbulls and they are loyal to there owner when treated right and not made to fight.
Comment from Chad
Time May 9, 2012 at 12:46 pm
I loved this story. This is a great for the Pitbull image – not all Pitbulls are ill behaved or vicious. This Pitbull has probably been watching Dog TV, which is scientifically proven to relax dogs. Check out Dog TV’s Facebook page for more information. I think it is pretty cool! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=627249984#!/tv4dogs
Comment from Anonymous
Time May 9, 2012 at 12:49 pm
anon you are a moron. Pitt bulls are not genetically violent. They have a bad reputation because of cruel people who trained them to fight each other
Comment from debbie
Time May 9, 2012 at 1:45 pm
wow Anon.. isn’t there a chance of individualism in everything? We had a pit/mix who was the love of our lives.Didn’t have a viscous bone in his body..there was a litter of cats on our property at one time and tor ( our pit bull mix) alerted me to them by crying.. never harmed them in anyway, with every opportunity to.. hmmmmm sad comment you made..( and I know you are going to cite satistics about dog bites and killings and on and on, but given how dogs have been our companions for many many years, you wonder if it is not us humans that are the real monsters..
Comment from McDanger
Time May 9, 2012 at 1:50 pm
I hope you’re being sarcastic, anon.
Comment from PitLover
Time May 9, 2012 at 2:17 pm
and its people like YOU “anon” that pit bulls get their bad reputation!
Comment from guest
Time May 9, 2012 at 3:36 pm
i volunteer at a low-spay/neuter organization and see many, many pitbulls and pit/mixes….pitbulls get a bad rap, when there are so many of them that are soooo sweet….this is a touching story; just regret that lily lost a leg….
Comment from IPittieTheFool
Time May 9, 2012 at 3:45 pm
What a great story! heroism is not just for people and this dog tried to stop a train with its body to shield its owner. can you think of anything nobler? Good doggie – does the dog owner need a donation to help with the vet bills?
Comment from anon
Time May 9, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Thanks John for recognizing my inept attempt at sarcasm. I thought I was being obvious in the extreme. Next time I will add ‘/sarc’ to signal a snark.
Comment from Willysmom
Time May 9, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Nice story but why was an alcoholic walking on the tracks to begin with?
Comment from Bobbie Jo
Time May 9, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Im so sick of ppl saying PITTBULLS are bad, or the Devil, let me tell u, I have 2 PITTBULLS, they are the most loving dogs in the world, my pitts understand every word I say, when Im sad or upset my dogs know. They come up to me and give me love, they stay by my side always, never bite anyone, If PITTBULL dogs are mean its because the owner made them that way, or was abuseive to them. Theyre attitudes and personalitys are AWESOME. I love my dogs like they were my kids, hell they are, mind better too lol
So to all u ppl that talk bad about pitts, u havent ever owned one, cause if u did u wouldnt be talking shit about them. So speak what u know not what u think u know]\
Comment from Cookie
Time May 11, 2012 at 11:50 am
I agree with Bobbie Jo, u couldn’t have said it better. I love my Pitt bulls more than anything!
Comment from Andrea
Time May 11, 2012 at 9:21 pm
This breed gets such a bad reputation, but what very close minded people do not realize is it’s not the dogs fault, it is the way the owner trains the dog and teaches the dog, it has also been proven that out of ALL the breeds, Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs when you love them and care for them the way they deserve to be treated, it is not their fault why some are aggressive, a lot of them are used for dog fighting and to act as a guard dog which gives them this aggressive way of being but it is not their fault, and Anon that was a very very horrible response, obviously you do not know much about them enough to make such a horrible judgement. I worked in an animal shelter and im currently volunteering in one and I can tell everyone from my own experience and by raising one that they are NOT born aggressive or a horrible breed. They are sweet and loving and a great companion. Besides dogs don’t eat people so that comment was just..really..stupid..it’s fine that people post opinions on here and that’s great well in my opinion that comment was stupid.
Comment from David
Time July 24, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Seriously pit bulls are the most loyal dogs in my opinion… N it’s tru there is no bad pits only bad owners.. I have been around pits all my life n I have one too n never have I seen any signs of aggression towards ppl or dogs. For the ppl that think otherwise take a sec n really look into tha stories of pit bull attacks n u will see its always points to irresponsible owners…
Comment from Elohor
Time July 31, 2012 at 8:57 am
Hi, thanks alot for your blog, I think it is sincerely inspiring and if truth be told, an eye opener, I truly love the concept that you bring into blogging, I personally have a wee dog and I have being looking for resources like this one. Cheers.
Comment from baltimoregal
Time May 9, 2012 at 10:37 am
Thank you , John, for knowing who the real heroes are.