Owner thought her dog wanted to play when she nudged her toward her favorite mailman’s truck — but she froze when she looked inside and called 911
A woman's cozy day was interrupted by her restless dog constantly nudging her to go outside on a Saturday afternoon. She tried to resist his poking but eventually gave up when it got too extreme. She saw the mailman’s truck was parked outside her house and figured her dog, Bowie, a 10-pound Yorkshire Terrier and Bichon Frisé mix, wanted to play with him as they shared a great bond. It was only when she called for the mailman that the owner was left alarmed and called 911 for help.
Cyndi Dawson, a resident of New Jersey, was reading a book in her room to get her head off the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly, Bowie ran into her room, nipping and pulling her pants. When she ignored him, Bowie barked to force her to come out of her room and go downstairs with him. "I thought he wanted to play, and I was very happy with my book. I didn't want to get out of bed, but he just wouldn't let up,” she told local outlet, MyCentralJersey. Dawson gave in to her dog’s demand and went outside. She noticed the mailman’s truck had struck the back of her husband’s car while the driver, also her friend, William Morgan, was unresponsive.
It struck Dawson that something was wrong, and she went over to check. She found Morgan lying unconscious inside the truck while Bowie kept barking at him. Dawson screamed for help, urging her husband to call 911. The East Brunswick police arrived while her husband was administering aid to the mailman. Morgan was then rushed to the hospital on a stretcher, where he regained his consciousness. He was suffering from a medical emergency inside the postal vehicle when Bowie alerted his owner to the situation. "I would never have found him out there if it wasn't for my dog,” Dawson stated, admiring her pet’s life-saving feat. "He would have been dead in the truck because he wasn't breathing."
However, the owner was not sure how long her friend had been knocked out before Bowie noticed him. Fortunately, Morgan was safe and recovering in the hospital. Dawson hoped he would come to meet Bowie and her after he was fully well. “He (Morgan) loves my dog,” she said. Later, she updated the mailman about her pet dog’s brave act that saved his life. He lauded Bowie as a “great dog” who has been his buddy ever since he was a puppy. Dawson also set up a GoFundMe page for Morgan with a target of $25,000 to cover his medical expenses and get him back on his feet until he resumed work. “I thought it was so incredible how my dog knew and went out of its way to get me outside to see what happened.”
It surprised Dawson that her rescue dog was so aware and intuitive about his environment. He had previously rescued his cat siblings from trouble three times, per the source. According to PetMD, dogs are masters in detecting emotion, physiological changes, illness, and environmental events because of their high sensitivities. Similarly, when a person is ill, the change in odor mostly alerts dogs to the situation.