Today's Adorable Animal Video

Okay, this isn't exactly an "Adorable" animal video, that's just the recognizable heading I use for all these these.  Actually, it's a Truly Remarkable Animal Video.

No backstory is needed, the video of what's happening is clear.  But remarkable as it is, it's just the surface, knowing the backstory puts it in full perspective that makes it all the more wonderful and far richer.  This is from 2010 -- the Alaska State Trooper Terrence Shanigan was response to a distress call for a file when his GPS froze up and he got disoriented in the dark amid the twisting roads in the middle of nowhere. That's when he came across a dog in the road, sitting and waiting on the left side.  This being Alaska, Shanigan was an experienced dog sledder, and he  recognized that the German Shepherd was trying to lead him.  The owner of the workshop on fire, Ben Heinrichs, suffered burns to his hand, but no more than that.  And he told reporters later that this wasn't the first time his dog Buddy had saved him, having fought off bears before.

But the story is even better.  Buddy then ran back to where he'd been waiting before -- and Trooper Shanigan had the presence of mind to call the fire department to tell them that if they saw a German Shepherd in the road not to ignore it but follow it to the fire.

If you want a bit more, here's a well-produced 6-minute report done on the story, featuring Trooper Shanigan, as well as Ben Henrichs.  And Buddy, of course. It's from a British TV series, ​Extraordinary Dogs.