An extraordinary story has emerged out of a Washington state animal shelter, where officials claim a dog dutifully stood guard for a nearly a week on Vashon Island to protect another dog that had fallen in a cistern.
Tillie, a setter mix, only left Phoebe’s side to try to alert people of her trapped friend.
Amy Carey of Vashon Island Pet Protectors says the two were found Tuesday after they were reported missing by their owners last week. Vashon Island Pet Protectors says volunteers looking for the pair received a call about a reddish dog being seen on someone’s property a few times before promptly heading back into the ravine.
Carey says the Pet Protectors followed the tip and found Tillie lying beside an old cistern. Inside rescuers found Phoebe, a basset hound, on a pile of stones above the water.
The dogs were cold and hungry but otherwise unharmed.
“It’s really quite remarkable,” Carey said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
Remarkable indeed. If only humans had the heart and brains of a dog.