WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) — Wednesday is National Dog Day, and to celebrate, UPI put together a list of some memorable stories involving man’s best friend.
Created by Colleen Paige in 2004, National Dog Day aims to raise awareness of the amount of homeless canines still in need of forever homes. It also honors those animals who work alongside humans every day to help make the world a better place including family dogs, service dogs, police dogs, rescue dogs and more.
Below are 10 examples of memorable doggy personas which inspire appreciation for our four legged friends as they flip, serve and simply make us smile.
1. The Ride or Die
When an alleged drug ring was busted in Brazil earlier this summer, police didn’t expect to arrest the family dog, too — but a loyal pet doesn’t abandon its owner, it goes down with them! After first barking at the authorities during the bust, the dog heeled when he noticed his owners following the police’s requests to lay on the ground. Instead of running away, the pup laid down and rolled over next to its human accomplices.
There was a male dog that was barking when officers burst onto the scene but when it saw its owners obeying the command to lie down, it ran over and laid down as well,” police said.
While its two owners were arrested, the dog was later released from police custody. If it could, we suspect the dog would have happily paid their bail — talk about a ride or die.
2. The Happy Explorer
A woman in northeast England shared a clip of her fun-loving pup hopping around in a beautiful field of tall grains earlier this summer.
The woman’s pet, a small dog apparently named Alfie, is spotted only briefly as it bobs its head above the towering grass before disappearing below once again. A fast-growing trail exists in its wake as it runs excitedly through the green.
The dog owner said in a Reddit post the field in County Durham is an open field on a public path behind her house. “The farmer that owns the land has also seen me before in the field and hasn’t said anything, just waved,” she wrote.
Redditors likened the video to the famous velociraptor attack scene in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, just with a lot more fur and smiles.
3. The Entertainer
What’s better for a frisbee-chasing pup than showing off with an expertly-done flip just before retrieving its prize?
For a pooch named Chai in Oregon, a hop over a screen fence just wasn’t enough to get the applause it knew it deserved. Instead, the dog ran head first into the netting and performed its “first front flip” on camera. It may have looked like an accident, but we suspect it knew what it was doing all along.
“Hold my bone while I take this jump,” the owner joked. Now that’s a show!
4. The Partner in Prank
With a creative prankster for an owner, this pup didn’t stand a chance against this frightening plan.
The Polish owner dressed his small dog in a giant tarantula costume and proceeded to hide it in places to ensure a scare. In a video titled “Mutant Giant Spider Dog,” Chica, a dachshund by the looks of it, is unleashed on unsuspecting members of the public — scaring them out of their wits.
One scene in the video, created by owner Sylwester Wardega, features two women discovering the giant spider apparently attacking a man in an elevator, leaving the women to flee in terror, while another features a man in a train station who discovers body parts dangling from giant pieces of web before being chased by the dog spider into a giant web.
Wardenga is famous for his prank videos on YouTube, which often feature super hero Spider-Man hitching rides on the backs of subway trains or scaring members of the public in parks. Chica is quite a pup if it can stomach this prankster’s mischief!
5. The Cat Savior
Dogs and cats may be natural-born enemies, but that doesn’t mean a well-intentioned pup can’t help a feline out of a tight situation…right?
Early this year, a cat vs. cup video was recorded in Moscow featuring an unfortunate kitty with its face encased by a red Solo cup. Just seconds of giggle-worthy squirming go by until a larger pup comes to the rescue and nonchalantly nabs the cup from the cat’s head.
We wonder if the rescued cat took time to thank its tail-wagging hero, possibly sharing some of its kibble with its new friend?
6. The Puppy Protector
A stray dog in a Dallas park saved the day for a family of newborn puppies when it lead members of an animal rescue group deep into the forest straight to them.
During a cold spring night in the Texan city, a previously elusive dog left abandoned at a public park got close enough to the rescuers to nab their attention about a bigger issue. “He never acted like that before and I was worried that maybe he was sick or something…happened to him,” a Dallas Dogrrr-Rescue, Rehab and Reform member said.
A dog behaviorist accompanying the Dogrrr crew said he felt the abandoned dog — later named Hero — wanted them to follow him. He told reporters that the brave pup led them to a muddied area where they found a mom and 10 shivering puppies.
Hero then finally allowed rescuers to take him, the new mom — Mona — and her puppies to a warm foster home. Whether Hero is the biological father is still a mystery, but the Dallas Dogrrr Facebook page called Hero “the most loving and nurturing dog dad,” after his heroic rescue.
7. The Monkey’s Best Friend
Dogs don’t only have to be humanity’s best bud, they can befriend the entire animal kingdom! A driver in Malaysia stopped his car to record the unusual event of a full-grown dog allowing a baby monkey to hitch a ride.
Zainal Azman Hj Bidin, who posted the video on Facebook, recorded the dog walking at the side of the road in Temerloh, Pahang, with the young primate clinging tightly to its back. Zainal Azman wrote the monkey appeared to be recently orphaned and was being cared for by the dog.
“These animals have a gentle nature that should exist in all mankind,” he wrote. We agree!
7. The Monkey’s Best Friend
Dogs don’t only have to be humanity’s best bud, they can befriend the entire animal kingdom! A driver in Malaysia stopped his car to record the unusual event of a full-grown dog allowing a baby monkey to hitch a ride.
Zainal Azman Hj Bidin, who posted the video on Facebook, recorded the dog walking at the side of the road in Temerloh, Pahang, with the young primate clinging tightly to its back. Zainal Azman wrote the monkey appeared to be recently orphaned and was being cared for by the dog.
“These animals have a gentle nature that should exist in all mankind,” he wrote. We agree!
8. The Helper
When snow drapes over one family’s beloved hockey rink, an energetic dog took it upon himself to clear it up wielding nothing but the best snow shovel he could find.
In late February, a family dog in Ontario was recorded voluntarily picking up a large snow shovel and raking it across his family’s backyard, revealing a small hockey rink underneath. Greg Cox posted a video to YouTube showing his golden retriever, Elsa, picking up the family’s slack and using a shovel to push the snow off the ice of their backyard rink to clear the way for some hockey action.
“She loves it out there, and takes any opportunity she can to get out back on the ice,” Cox wrote of Elsa on YouTube. A curious child is heard in the background of the video being thoroughly entertained, and rightly so! Remind us to keep Elsa around to do outdoor chores next winter!
9. The Sneaky Napper
After a frantic search for her thought-to-be-lost rescue dog, Kristen Rhynehart found her pup, Raven, resting quietly next to her sleeping, human child in a crib.
“That moment you can’t find your dog and you even go outside looking for him…only to walk in the house and find him snuggled up in bed next to your toddler,” Rhynehart wrote on YouTube. Raven was reportedly rescued from a shelter 10 years ago.
“I often wonder…who rescued who?” the relieved owner wrote on an accompanying Facebook post. “I gave him a home, be he gave me so, so much more.” Yeah, a built-in napping buddy and baby protector, not a runaway! Kudos, Raven. You got her good.
10. The Water Hose Bandit
Last, but not least, it’s time for some water hose fun. During the hot month of July, a dog and his owner got into a hilarious one-sided water fight during bath time.
Instead of allowing itself to be washed with a long water hose, the dog in question rebells and grabs the hose, proceeding to chase its owner with it, effectively soaking the man.
In a hilarious video shared by AFV Animals on YouTube, the black labrador positioned the hose just right at ever turn as it chased its owner across a field. It was no use maneuvering around the pup, however, for it was prepared for every twist or turn its owner could make. Goes to show that Man’s best friend has some trick of its own to teach its human companions — including how to take a “proper” bath.
