Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Hero Pets Solve Crimes Impossible For Mere Mortals

Episode Date: December 30, 2022

Today on Crime Stories, we count blessings as 2022 comes to a close. We look at times when man's best friend saved the day, with stories that will warm your heart. You'll hear how a dog saves its family from a terrible gas leak in their home. You'll also hear how a dog saved a child allergic to bee stings by getting the child to someone who could help. A law enforcement K-9 takes down an intruder at the White House. We have the details... today on Crime Stories.  Joining Nancy Grace today: Emily Compagno  - co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News, host of Hero Dogs on Fox Nation, Insta: @realemilycompagno  Penny Douglas Furr - Atlanta Attorney, Animal Rights Advocate   Marshall Mirarchi - Former Secret Service Special Operations - Tactical Canine Unit, k9hurricanesheroes.org  Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist, CarynStark.com, Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: "Caryn Stark"  Deborah Grooms – Chewy owner    Angie Wood – “The Atlanta Dog Whisperer,” Dog Behaviorist with US Canine, specializing in treating and rehabilitating dogs with aggression, fears, phobias, and behavioral issues (www.uscanine.com)   Trace Sargent – Search, Rescue & Recovery Expert, Podcast: "The Seeker’s Quest", Facebook: The Seeker’s Quest   Dave Mack Crime Online Investigative reporter   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. First of all, Happy New Year from all of us here at Crime Stories and what stories we have for you today. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thanks for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Now, these crime stories are different from any other crime story we've ever brought to you for the entire year of 2022. Let's kick it off with our friends at GMA. Meet Henry, an eight-year-old Boston Terrier who's being hailed as a real hero this morning after saving the life of his nine-month-old human sister. It all started when Henry began acting a little strange, repeatedly barging into the

nursery and waking the baby. That night he was headbutting the door open and going into her room and standing there. And every time I shooed him away, he would go back in as soon as my back was turned. While Kelly and Jeff Dowling knew their daughter had a cold, it was Henry who sensed that things were getting worse. She wasn't clearing her airway. She was, she started to turn blue. She couldn't get air, couldn't get any oxygen. The couple rushed their baby girl to the hospital where doctors were able to clear out her airways and send her back home later that night. Kelly Dowling shared the story on Twitter, writing, I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't woken her. We don't deserve dogs.

Joining me is an all-star panel of pet dog specialist experts in their fields. But first, to Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. What happened? The dog was more in tune with what was happening. The parents knew that they had a baby who had a cold, but they didn't realize that the baby was having a lot of trouble. But the dog just had a better sense of what was going on. knowing that this baby was suffering, just would not stop until the parents actually came in and looked. Saved the baby's life. It's amazing to me that it's the dog. I thought dogs were colorblind. That's what I learned in arson investigations, that a dog could sense, a fire dog as I call them, could smell the accelerant left behind in a fire, even after everything was destroyed, but couldn't see it,

except in shades of black, white, and gray. Joining me, Emily Campagno, you know her well, co-host of Outnumbered on Fox and host of Hero Dogs on Fox Nation. Emily, it's a real treat to have you joining us. Can you believe this story? A dog who doesn't even see colors, or so we've been told, could tell the baby was in distress and turning blue

and her own parents didn't know it, Emily. I think that's what's so incredible about dogs. Not only do they have a multitude of senses, humans frankly don't, but they don't give up. The remarkable part of the story to me is not necessarily that the dog knew the baby was in distress, but that he kept going in, that he willfully disobeyed his parents to show them, you guys, your baby needs help. My sister needs help. It's really a remarkable story. And yet I'm not surprised at all. Good dog. Good dog. With me,

Angie Wood, the Atlanta dog whisperer. She's a dog behaviorist. Angie, thanks for being with us. Are you surprised at all about what happened? No, not at all, Nancy Grace. Dogs have doggy senses. They are more in tune to vibe, energy, and what's going on around them much more than we are. And they live by the nose. Live by the nose. They have even smelled a little different, right? Wow. You know, I hadn't even thought about that.

I hadn't thought about that. Guys, Marshall Meraki is with me, former Secret Service Special Ops Tactical Canine Unit. And you can find him at caninehurricanesheroes.org. What do you make of this story where the dog keeps leading the parents back in and the baby is actually blue? Yeah, I mean, I actually, I've seen this firsthand with a lot of the diabetic dogs. They can actually pick up on the smell and a lot of the senses coming from the person if they're low on their blood sugar. This is kind of in the same realm as that type of training this dog just obviously instinctually had it you know over the care of the child it just comes second nature to them it's it's really impressive guys does anybody on

the panel know what are the dogs smelling the baby's turning blue the dog cannot see her where she is in the bed but he is alerting the parents and he keeps going back and back and back until they come to the room and look at the baby the baby is blue how in the world what could he possibly smell does anybody on the panel have any idea what the dog is smelling i may have an Go. We people, we produce pheromones and hormones and there's a new study out about 100% of dogs tested new

when you were afraid. So this tells us that our body chemistry changes under duress, probably under happiness and all sorts of other situations. So I have a feeling

that had a huge component. Who is this speaking? This is Angie. Okay. Angie Wood. Now, it's hard for me to believe because when I hear any bit of information, I immediately think it can or cannot come into evidence in court.

You know, and I guess like a computer, I run through all the hearsay exceptions, all the evidentiary exceptions and rules to getting something in, and you cannot get into court. The dog can smell my happiness. That's not going to happen. But that does not mean that I don't believe you. But I'll tell you somebody that knows all about dogs and their noses. That's Tracy Sargent joining me. My longtime friend that I've worked with many, many times, Search Rescue Recovery Expert

podcast, The Seeker's Quest. Tracy handles canines. Now, you have had a lot of canines that you and I've worked with that can smell, for instance, cadaver, a dead person. So, I know they can smell that, but in my mind, I'm thinking, well, so can I. But explain to me how a dog's nose works. And it's going to be hard to convince me a dog can smell my happiness, but I'm slowly wading into my disbelief. Help me out, Tracy. Well, first of all, dogs just physically are designed to smell things. The idea, and it was mentioned earlier by another guest, that we see the world through our eyes.

Dogs see the world through their nose. So when they are smelling around, they're not smelling just a whole variety of senses and smells. They are smelling individual scents. For example, it was explained years ago, and it's a good analogy. When we look at, let's say, a vegetable soup, we may smell the soup itself. Dogs can smell every single ingredient in that vegetable soup. So they were able to distinguish individual specific scents and they truly do have superpowers. I've seen this not only with whatever dogs, but also with drug dogs, bomb dogs. We mentioned diabetic dogs. Their senses are truly superpowers. And just physically how they're designed, when we look at how our brains are designed to pick up scent and smell,

it's a very, very small part of us. When you compare it to a dog's brain, it is a significantly larger amount of their brain and their senses and their whole design of how their brain and their nose and all of that works together to be able to pick up all of those different sounds. You know, we have a pound puppy, fat boy, and I've noticed I don't hear anything. I don't see anything. I don't smell anything. And the dog will sit up and his nose will actually be quivering. He smells something. And then the next thing you know, the doorbell will ring or some event occurs. It's really unusual. Okay, you've almost got me there. I'm almost convinced. Now you heard about the little baby that was turning blue, not crying, not making a sound. And the dog, the Boston Terrier, saved her. Now, take a listen to this. This is Bryson and this is Shiloh. They used to do everything together. Best friends from the

start. As much as Eli was everybody else, those two, the baby and the dog, have a bond. If the pair is outside together, they're likely playing fetch and it was right here where Shiloh became this family's hero. A quiet night the family relaxing outside Bryson making his way out and as he started to step off the porch. Shiloh jumped up and took off after. He lunged right towards the baby and at the baby's feet and when he did he kind of jerked back it's what was in this bush shiloh saw it before anyone else as soon as i saw it i did i knew it was a copperhead immediately of course the copperhead one of the deadliest poisonous snakes in the country take a listen

more from wate a copperhead inches away from 18 month old bryson shiloh jumping between the two turning his head to the side and shaking his head and stuff and you could tell he had been hurt. You know, the snake had gotten him. As furry as he is and he has so much fur around his neck, you could visibly see the swelling. And so... Shiloh recovered after a full round of antibiotics and pain medicine. The family still amazed at what happened. He's 24 pounds and I believe that it would have killed him.

These two best friends back together again. We give God the glory in everything, and we know that he used that dog, that wonderful dog, to protect him. And we're thankful every day for him now. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I'd like to Tracy Sargent joining us with the Seeker's Quest, who actually handles dogs. I know you do cadaver dogs. What other dogs do you handle, Tracy? So I've handledver dogs. What other dogs do you handle, Tracy? So I've handled bum dogs. I've been a regional representative of service dogs, including diabetic feature alert dogs,

as well as people with special needs. But what I do specifically with my personal dogs is search, rescue, and recovery. Okay. You're going to think this is crazy or maybe not, but growing up in heavily, heavily wooded rural middle Georgia, we can, well, I, I think my brother and sister can actually smell a snake. They kind of smell like, kind of smell like a goat crossed with a roadkill. It's something like a skunk. Once you smell it, you will never mistake it again. So I can understand actually how the dog could smell the snake. But taking the hit, the snake bit the dog and not the child and miraculously was saved. Marshall Maraki joining me. Are you surprised that the dog took the bite from the snake and saved the child? I'm not surprised at all.

Just like the first scenario, we talked about the dog using its senses to be protective here. It's using its instincts. Remember, the dogs are packed animals, and that baby is part of the pack, and that dog knows to protect that baby at all costs, just like they do out in the wild with each other, a younger sibling. They're just doing the same thing right there with the human. It's amazing to see. It's such a great story. Marshall Meraki, joining me, guys, former Secret Service Special Ops.

You can find him at caninehurricanesheroes.org. Can you tell me about Hurricane? Sure, so Hurricane was my Secret Service dog in 2012 to 2016 And just along these same lines, his job was to protect the White House So we would sit at the White House inside the fence And protect the first family from intruders or any dangers coming over the fence In 2014, Hurricane had a suspect Got over multiple

fences and got all the way up to the front door. President Obama and his family were just inside, and Hurricane, using his protective nature, not his senses here, you know, runs out and stops the intruder from getting into the White House. You know, people always say he was protecting the president, but just like this situation with the baby he's protecting me he doesn't know he's at the white house he doesn't know the magnitude of the situation he just knows you know somebody's running aggressively towards dad and i need to stop him and it's you know falls right in line with this last story we just heard with protecting the child from the snake you got to tell me the whole thing marshall because we're talking about K-9 Hurricane, a former special ops K-9 who protected

the president of the United States from an intruder at the White House. It took a dog. Now, no offense, Marshall Meraki, but I thought the White House was shrouded like, you know, Hogwarts. It's got all the magical, special charms all around it, and the Dementors can't get in. I guess you read the book or saw the movie, right? I thought the White House was just, you know, fortified with all of these special protections, and a dog took down the intruder. You know, there's a lot of officers and a lot of agents and a dog took down the intruder you know there's a lot of officers a lot of agents and a lot of technology but you know a dog saved the agency that day saved the president and we

after 9-11 with the threat of suicide bombers yeah we started the apprehension program where that you know the dogs can be that first line of defense for us so we can assess the situation so on that day hurricane right place right time and you know protecting dad of course ran out there and he was able to stop the intruder so you know i didn't have to run out i'm looking at him right now he's very handsome he's shiny he's solid black he's got on his secret service vest his ears are poking up it says he's a Belgian what? Malinois. They're part of the German Shepherd family. And yes, he's very proud of his vest and his gear. You know, the second you put it on him, it's like his Superman cape. Right away,

you can just see the difference in his posture. He's very proud of what he does. You know, I was always very proud of my badge when I was a prosecutor and still am. One of the headlines says he crushes the white house intruder please tell me he really bit him but good so that individual was on a couple different drugs actually that day so he wasn't feeling any pain so at that point it became a 200 pound athlete versus you know a 70 pound dog and just a straight up fight and you know some of these other stories we've talked about um the dog was willing to versus a 70-pound dog in just a straight-up fight. And some of these other stories we've talked about,

the dog was willing to die for me. I'm one of those rare people that can actually say, I have a best friend who was willing to lay it all on the line for me. So it's just like an amazing experience I have. Yes, a fight ensued. Fox was actually the station that caught it all live on camera. So it's all out there. But the individual was punching Hurricane, kicking him, stomping on his head at one point. And Hurricane just would not ease up until he pushed the individual all the way back to the fence.

So me and the rest of my team could move in and handcuff the suspect. Did he bite him a lot? That's a technical legal question. Please say yes. I want him bitten really badly. You know more than anybody how the court cases go. I'm going to say this.

I'll let you defer on that one. You can see it. The video is out there. I'm just thinking about this dog and I've said many times, let me bring in my long time friend and colleague Penny, are you with me? I'm just thinking about this dog and I've said many times let me bring in my longtime friend and colleague Penny are you with me? I'm with you Nancy. Penny Edwards-Furr is joining me right now and we have gone round and round and round about dogs specifically Rottweilers that eat people. But, Penny, you're absolutely right. A dog actually

saving the President and Mrs. Obama. I mean, you're hearing all these stories, Penny, and it feeds into everything you just said, that you've always said. A Belgian Malinois went on a walk with his

trainer in the mountains one day, and he was in front of his trainer. They were just walking along, and a cougar jumped on his trainer. His trainer screamed. The Belgian Malinois did not wait a second. He was on top of that puma and he took the puma down and the puma got scared and ran up a tree and the trainer had to bring the belgian malinois out because he was at the bottom of the tree wanting to get to the cat and at first he was afraid that the cat would kill the Belgian dog, but he didn't. The dog didn't wait a second. He was going to protect his trainer. He was there in a flash.

You know, I've never heard of that. I would have just called Hurricane a German Shepherd just by looking at him. That's a pretty amazing story. All the stories we're bringing you now to celebrate the coming of 2023 are all true. None of this is made up or fictionalized. As a matter of fact, as much as I rail about pit bulls, I want you to take a listen to Kelsey Watts, Local 12. Freshly home from the hospital,

eight-year-old Jesse Kohl-Shaver is hugging his dog a little tighter. Good girl, Hades. Good girl. He was with his sisters and other neighborhood kids exploring a creek down this steep embankment behind their Oregon City apartment complex when one of the kids stepped into a rotten log, unleashing swarms of bees. It felt like a bunch of needles just went into my skin. I didn't know what was going on until the girl started screaming bees. Jessie Cole's big sister Jasmine was stung five times in what could have been a deadly encounter because she's allergic to bees. And I got hit with the MP pin two times.

Wow. Karen Start with me, New York psychologist, joining us from Manhattan at KarenStart.com. Karen Stark with me, New York psychologist, joining us from Manhattan at KarenStark.com. Karen with a C. Karen, I remember you and I sitting in amazement as my former producer, Dean Sicoli, told the story of being in a restaurant right down the street from where you are right now. They told the people that their son was allergic to nuts repeatedly, yet brought the child a meal with cashew milk in it.

Later, they said, well, there weren't any nuts. Long story short, the child goes in an anaphylactic shot. Dean races across the street, bams on a pharmacy that's closed. They open for him and they give him an EpiPen. And he races back and saves his son. That's what happens to people that are allergic with bees.

Karen, doesn't your throat constrict and you can't breathe anymore? Your throat constricts. Actually, it's happened to me. When you have an allergic reaction like that you can go into anaphylaxis where you can't breathe and everything is shutting down.

Yes, and that's exactly what's happening here with the bees. Emily Campagna joining us co-host of Outnumbered on Fox News and host of Hero Dogs on Fox Nation which which is incredible, Emily. It's amazing. Emily, I want you to listen to the rest of the story about the bee stings. Meanwhile, little Jesse Cole was stung at least 24 times, his family can count.

Got one here, here. And couldn't make it back up this hill to safety on his own. But luckily their pit bull Hades came to the rescue. Hades saw me and came and she dragged me up to the grass and then stopped and let me crawl on her back and then took me to mom. I just heard a bunch of screaming. Then I saw my dog dragging my son up his pants. Their mother, who does not want to be identified, says even in the hospital, doctors were still pulling bees out of their hair. And if it weren't for a little help from Hades. A couple of these kids could have got really sick or died. To Emily Campagno joining us, this is just a real treat to have you on, Emily. What do you make of that story, Emily?

Oh, I love being on here, Nancy. Thank you so much. I think it's one more absolutely phenomenal story that we have been sharing today where dogs. You know, we can smell something from a couple feet away. These dogs can taste and smell, you know, a tiny gram of salt in an Olympic-sized pool. They can sense imperceptible temperature changes. They can hear from miles away. So not only are their senses heightened, but that sense of loyalty is also astronomical, which is why they will die for us. As former Secret Service agent Marshall Meraki was stating earlier, they will absolutely lay down their lives for their handler, for their best friend, for their dad. And I think it's part of what is remarkable about these stories is that the humans are watching that unfold.

And yet the common denominator here is that all of these dogs have succeeded in these incredible stories. So we're lucky that after the fact, we still get to snuggle with them on the couch. Emily, I was viewing over and over and over a recent clip that was home security surveillance. And a little girl was in the front yard of her home. Her home was the one catching what happened. And the dog suddenly just races out from outside the camera view, races toward the girl. I thought the dog, it looked like a lassassie dog was going to knock the little girl down. But he ran around and around the little girl and then went and attacked another dog that was coming for the little girl. It was either a Pitbull or a Rottweiler that had gotten away from its owner and was headed for the little girl for who knows what reason. But this dog, when the two met, they both went up in the air. And it was amazing to me that this dog at a distance sensed or saw something that humans didn't see. The pit bull, as I believe it was,

rushing toward his little girl. And he ran from the distance and actually attacked the dog midair. It was amazing. I think that's something that is so remarkable as well, which is that I think in human interaction, you know, if we're in a David and Goliath situation, normally the David backs down. But in the canine kingdom, you can see that totally disparate size, and the dogs don't care. That's why the 24-pound dog went up against the snake.

As you heard the owner say earlier, the dog should have died. The story you just articulated, which is a small lassie going up against a big Rottweiler meeting in the air, I mean, we see it all the time with our pets, right, where the threat is so much larger than the dog. And yet the dog does everything they can to protect their pack member, their parents, you know, whoever it is that they're protecting. That instinct and that absolute lack of abandonment is what puts these dogs in these positions of protection over and over and over again, especially with our men and women in uniform. Emily, I have to tell you what happens. Our dog, when I got him at the pound, they said, oh, he's a purebred dachshund because I happened to mention my son wanted a hot dog, a weenie dog. Well, he is anything but a purebred anything. I think from the shoulders up, he's a Doberman Pinscher.

And then, yeah. And then from the shoulders down, he's kind of short. He's short. I wish I could convince him that the Amazon delivery guy is not the enemy because if I go out and he sees anybody in the yard, he is on them like a bullet. They won't even get out of the car anymore. They just sit out there and honk the horn, hoping I'll come back because they're dogs. He's this big. And he is like, boom. It's like a bullet racing across the front yard to attack whoever it is. Emily, Emily, please tell me, I know you've got so many, but what is one of your favorite stories about dog heroes? Oh, you're right. I have many. And by the way,

I have, I just lost her, but my best friend of her whole life was a Doberman Pinscher, an extra large Doberman Pinscher named Duchess. And no one even looked at me. She was larger than I am. She outweighed me for most of her life. So the protection, the deterrence visually, as well as these dogs, even if they're small, goes a long way, especially I'm sure for delivery drivers. Nancy, one of my favorite stories is Canine Joker, who was a county sheriff's canine unit in Bradley County in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I had the honor of snuggling with Canine Joker and meeting his handler, Deputy Edward Choate. And this story distilled down is that this working canine had developed a reputation around that sort of gang infested county because he was such an incredible canine.

He was such a deterrent. He never failed. And one horrible evening, six suspects were wanted for auto theft and had fled into the forest. Canine Joker was deployed off leash. You know, the deputy let go of the leash for him to apprehend the suspects. And when Joker didn't come back, body cam footage shows Deputy Choate running through the forest, frantically looking for his partner and finds him in a pool of blood shot numerous times in the face. He eventually had an incredible rescue story, thanks to his his partner who was a Marine Corps veteran and had just deployed, returned from deployment. The canine Joker was saved, miraculously

nursed back to life, in large part due to the prayers of the entire nation. And on his first day back at work, when he was restored to full service, he was deployed at that same woods. And that same Marine Corps veteran also responded to that call and Joker successfully apprehended the suspect. But Nancy, here's why this is my favorite story. We're among them. Because up until then in Tennessee, dogs were treated simply as material, as inanimate objects. And there was zero penalty essentially for, for killing or felting a law enforcement canine or a horse or anything. And after that night, because of the lobbying efforts on behalf of canine Joker, now it just passed in July of this year.

The new law says that anyone who knowingly unlawfully harms a police dog is now a class B felony. And that perp can go to prison for up to 30 years so that is what changed the nation and that is what changes future lives and future souls of our incredible canine working dogs up until then there was no penalty no accountability for these perps who horribly maim and beat and as secret service marshall Maraki's story told us, really without abandon can fight these canines that are part of our families as well as officers in the law. So that to me is a success story through and through. You're hearing the voice of Emily Campagna, co-host

of Outnumbered on Fox and host of Hero Dogs on Fox Nation. She's telling you about Joker. Listen to this. They're still going. They bail. Joker, here, here, here, go. His drive was different than the other dogs. He was able to track, make apprehensions, and do the narcotics work. Get him, Joker. It was immediate that we realized how good he was.

Joker, go. The word got passed around. If there's Joker coming after you, he will find you every time. Go get him! Joker doesn't bark, and he began barking. Suddenly one of the subjects reached on his waistband and pulled a weapon. Don't get out! Do not get out! Joker will be the poster K-9 of every law enforcement K-9 in this country.

Six on the southbound. Six subjects jumped out. I deployed K-9 Joker. We're pretty certain they're armed. Complete darkness, thick, can't see. Hey, where are you? I lost track of K-9. We thought we heard shots.

Oh, no, bro. You're hearing actual body cam sound. Joker was shot in the face, Emily? Yes, ma'am. And the footage is incredibly graphic, incredibly graphic of that episode of Hero Dogs on Fosconation because it has all the body cam footage.

And I'm just imagining what you're talking about, Emily, that it was very heavily wooded. They're looking for the perps. It's dark. You can't see anything. And they send in Joker and then they hear gunshots.

That's what it sounded like to me, Emily. And I think it was a succession of miracles because to that point, Nancy, the woods were miles and miles and miles square. And so the fact that they even located Joker, who wasn't barking, you know, because he had been shot. So he was just lying in a pool of blood. It was silent out there. And yet they found him in the nick of time. And the rest of the counties, the neighboring counties all banded together to shut down all of the intersections so that when the deputies were racing him to the emergency veterinarian, they were able to get there as fast as possible. So it was really this team effort, succession after succession of miracles that enabled Canine Joker to survive.

Man, you've got the greatest job in town. You know that, Emily, right? Emily not only is co-host outnumbered on Fox, she is the host of Hero Dogs on Fox Nation, which is incredible. We have so many Hero Dogs I'm trying to get to. Let's take a listen to a story about Buddy. Well, it is the stuff of Hollywood movies. A flash fire starts in a detached garage.

The young man working inside pretty badly burned. The garage gets engulfed in flames. The house is just about to catch fire as well. So what happens? The family dog runs to get help. Part of the amazing rescue caught on tape by state troopers dash cam. Take a look. There's Buddy. You can see him leading the trooper down the road. Alaska trooper Terrence Shanigan was trying to find the address where the fire was burning,

but his GPS unit had frozen. He couldn't figure out which road he was supposed to take. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Buddy, the German shepherd, appears. The trooper followed him through a couple of turns right to the burning house and the injured owner. How in the world did Buddy know to find the trooper, number one, and lead him to the burning home, saving the owner? It's an incredible story. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

I know about another incredible dog. His name is Chewy. And joining me right now is Chewy's owner, Debra Grooms. Debra, thank you for being with us. Tell me about Chewy. Chewy was a rescue dog. He showed up on our front porch Thanksgiving four years ago. He had been tied to a tree and left. We suspect he was about 25 pounds underweight. And so we took him in and nourished him back to health. And on June 30th this year, we were at home, I was working at home and he came into my office and was pulling, pulling, pulling on my shirt to take him outside, which he does when he needs to go out. So I took him outside for a walk and he was pulling me to the side of the house, which was pretty annoying because he normally

wants to walk down the street. So I just took him around and then I'm like, okay, let's go back in the house. And he just would not stop. He just kept pulling, pulling, pulling. And so we walked around to the side of the house and we could smell a very faint smell of gas. But it was, you know, just before the weekend of 4th of July. So we thought maybe people were starting to barbecue, you know, could it be charcoal? Wasn't really sure. So I went back in the house and sat down and I was thinking about it. And here he starts pulling on my pants leg. He's really bothering me. So we go outside again, it's a little stronger. And I thought, well, this is bizarre. So I said to my mother, which I have my 84-year-old mother

with stage four cancer that lives with me, I said, I've got to call the fire department. I just can't take a chance. And so he's really, I mean, he will not stay in the house. He's making me go outside. So I called the fire department and they come over and they immediately said, you have to evacuate the house. You have a very serious gas leak. Your pipe from the outside natural gas has broken in half here and the gas is pouring out. You have to evacuate the house immediately. So I made everyone get out of the house and take the dogs in my car. And I stayed and waited, you know, for them to the gas department to come and shut off the gas and all that. But, you know and I stayed and waited, you know, for them, the gas department, to come and shut off the gas and all that. But, you know, the fire department said, you know,

your dog could have saved your life because it's Fourth of July weekend. You could have had an explosion here had he not alerted you because it was on the side of the house. We never go there, and, you know, unless you're just standing over there, you're not going to smell it. I would never have known. What kind of a dog do you think he is? Well, we had his DNA done once we decided to keep him, of course.

And he's 37.5% lab and then 12.5% boxer, 12.5% German Shepherd, and 25% American Staffordshire Terrier. And so he's a fourth generation mutt, basically, according to his DNA. What does he look like? Does he look like a German Shepherd or what does he look like? No, you know what he looks like? He looks in between a golden retriever and kind of like a, I mean, he's got a reddish coat. I mean, he's a beautiful dog. Oh, I'm looking at him right now. Oh my goodness. He's beautiful. He's very laid back, easy going.

Pretty dog. You know what's interesting when you were telling me what he looks like to Tracy Sargent with Search and Rescue Recovery Expert on the Seeker's Quest who has handled cadaver dogs, all types of canines. Tracy, we always think of a dog that works with police looking like maybe a German Shepherd, but we came back from overseas recently, and guess who was smelling all the suitcases a beagle dog and it was so cute but it was serious this is a very serious beagle dog and he had on his law enforcement vest and he was all up in the luggage okay so it doesn't matter what kind of a dog it is that's correct nancy in fact it's interesting you mentioned what they call the Beagle Brigade that is used in airports, and they're through the Department of Agricultural

Department to detect certain things that come into our country that may jeopardize or threaten our agricultural products, as well as other things. I can tell you where I was coming back from too. I went with Natalie Holloway's mother to Aruba to retrace Natalie's steps. And then we heard everything was held up because of a drug dog, a canine dog. And I was expecting a big, mean looking German shepherd. It was this most precious beagle dog just climbing up on everything. And everybody got a big smile on their face, even though we were having to wait a long time because of this beagle dog. So the type of dog doesn't really matter, right, Tracy? Absolutely. What I think is the keystone to these dogs is that they all have instincts.

Yeah. First and foremost, that instinct to want to be in a pack, to have that bond with other pack members whether it's four-legged or two-legged then when we look at the b-double race and these police dogs and things like that they have instincts and drives that we simply channel to benefit us well i gotta tell you something you're gonna find this hard to believe but I have often said that the best witness I ever put on the stand was a dog. Penny Douglas, for you were, I remember in and out of the courtroom on one of your cases when this happened, there's a drug lord in Atlanta in one of the worst housing projects in Atlanta,

and he had everything. And we were suspicious. Why does this guy have a Lamborghini? Why does he this, that? Well, based on probable cause, there was a search. The cops found nothing. The dog kept hitting against a wall. Turned out to be a false wall. And behind it was a ton of money and drugs. And the defense challenged the search.

And I had to bring the dog on. And we did an experiment in the courtroom where he found cocaine I had hidden all around the courtroom. The dog was a star witness. You remember that Penny Douglas fur? I remember. I remember, yes. And I remember the defense was objecting like crazy and I said, hey, listen, feel free to cross-examine him. Anyway, that dog won that case

hey Angie Wood joining me the Atlanta dog whisperer she's a dog behaviorist specializing in treating and rehabilitating dogs Angie what do you make of what you're hearing oh gosh dogs knows it is truly their superpower I don't know I don't walk down the sidewalk and dive into the grass and sniff things it's amazing so they can smell the smallest of particles. It's proven. I'm sure Penny can tell you that, you know, the bloodhound is, I think, the truly admissible evidence in court that can smell you going down the road to your car vent. It's just really amazing and very hard for we verbal species to wrap our brain around. You know, I've got so many examples of dog heroes to go through with you, saving children's lives, saving lives of people that were stranded,

holding onto a log and rushing water. It goes on and on and on. But I want to hear from you, my human guests. Marshall and Maraki, what do you make of our furry heroes we're talking about today? You know, our heroes have always been doing this. We're just seeing it more now with CCTV and cameras and ring doorbells. We're catching it all. But dogs have always been doing this stuff for humans, whether it's, you know, in the military with the police department or, you know, regular everyday pets saving people's lives. I think it it's, you know, in the military with the police department or, you know,

regular everyday pets saving people's lives. I think it's amazing that you're, you know, highlighting it, bringing light to this, just like Emily does with hero dogs and the charitable stuff. It's such a great thing to see these dogs being recognized. You know, they really are heroes and these everyday stories just, they really hit home with, you know, the effect they have on people's families and people's lives. They really do. Karen Starr, you know that Fat Boy goes everywhere with me. I do.

The only time he'll leave me is if one of the twins come in the room. What is that bond? I mean, I hate to tell the cat and the guinea pigs, but the dog really is man's best friend. Oh, and really, they were domesticated so long ago, that connection is incredible. Think about a mom, and you're a mom, Nancy, and the extraordinary things that they do when their children are in trouble, being able to lift a car, the stories that we hear about. It's the same thing with dogs. When they are attached to you, they will do anything. They will sacrifice themselves. They have that bond, that maternal bond that they will never, ever let you be in

trouble if they can help it. Penny Douglas for a way in. How many dogs do you have running through your house right now? Oh, I have four, Nancy. And they're all huge, gigantic Rottweilers. No, well, one is a Presa Canario. Oh, okay. One's a Pit Bull, one's a Rottweiler, and one's a mixed breed. But one thing... Okay. Glad you clarified they're not at all dangerous.

Go ahead. One thing I wanted to make sure and bring out is that dogs can also read emotion. And I don't think anybody's brought that out yet, because once we did some rescues with Rottweilers and one guy had adopted one and wanted to send him back he said he's not mean enough I want him here to protect my family no matter how many times I said if somebody starts to attack somebody in your family and they get scared, you'll see him turn. Oh, yeah.

Speaking of turning, I went to Penny's home to deliver her a file. I rang the doorbell. I saw nothing but teeth. And it was at my face level. The dog was jumping up at my face level. And all there were were teeth. Well, let me just say I went to the car and called her on the cell phone. Now, this is the same dog that gets in bed

with Penny and she feeds it peanut butter. So, that said, obviously there are two different sides. What do you make of it, Debra Grooms? Give me your thoughts. Well, all I can say is that there's nobody that's ever going to get into my house and hurt my family between

my dogs and myself because my dogs will protect our family from anything. The coyotes that are around, the intruders that are breaking into people's houses like crazy now. I mean, you know, they're just, they're going to make sure that you're safe no matter what. Angie Wood? Yes. Dogs are so loyal, just like

family members, because pack and family are synonyms, and they come to help if you need trouble. I'm sorry, if you're in trouble and you need them. Tracy? Yes. I would say the analogy that we hear oftentimes is so true, that's man's best friend. Not to take away the bond and connection we have with other animals, such as guinea pigs, cats, and horses, and other animals, but there's no bond and no relationship in the world and really in history like we have with dogs. Guys, these stories and so many others that are all true, miraculous stories of hero pets. As we enter into 2023, looking back on all the crimes we've fought

and all the stories we've covered, I want to go into 2023 thinking about everything good. Happy New Year. Goodbye, friend.