Hero Dog Lunges in Front Of Bus to Protect His Blind Owner

Brace yourselves for the river of cryface you are about to endure. A legally-blind woman from Putnam County, New York named Audrey Stone was crossing the street with her service dog, Figo, when a mini school bus began coming towards them. Figo sensed danger and immediately moved from the right side of Stone to her left in an effort to protect her from the oncoming vehicle. The dog was hit, and suffered a deep wound to his right leg which caused some of his fur to end up on the bumper of the bus and the pavement. Stone fractured her elbow and ankle, broke three ribs and suffered a head laceration. Both the 62-year-old woman and Figo are expected to recover.

Even though Figo was severely hurt, he refused to leave Stone. “The dog did not want to leave the side of the woman at all…it was the same thing with her, she did not want to leave the dog’s side,” Brewster Police Chief John Del Gardo told CBS New York. “You really can’t touch an injured dog guarding someone. Touch them — they’re aggressive. Not this dog,” said Del Gardo. “I’ve seen dogs protect their owners when an intruder is coming at them, but not from an automobile,” Del Gardo said in another interview with ABC News. Figo is Stone’s third service pup. “I thank him. I thank God that I have him and that he survived too. I love him,” Stone said.

Dr. LouAnn Pfeifer, Figo’s vet, said that even for a service animal, his behavior is remarkable. “I can’t explain it. Whether he did that consciously or unconsciously, it’s pretty amazing,” she told CBS. They are also trying to set up a video chat between Stone and Figo because seeing her and hearing her voice will help with his recovery. The driver of the school bus has received a summons for not yielding to a pedestrian crosswalk. He was transporting two kindergartners at the time of the accident, but they were unharmed.