Care 2 – by Susan BirdBuddy is one determined dog. When his human was in trouble, he refused to be left behind — even though it meant riding on the outside of a speeding ambulance. His devotion has made him a viral sensation.
Buddy, a beagle-mix, bonded quickly and strongly with his adoptive guardian, 85-year-old Texas rancher J.R. Nickelson, who rescued Buddy from a shelter over the summer. When Nickelson began to feel dizzy recently, ranch hand Brian Wright called for an ambulance.
Paramedics loaded up Nickelson and took off for the one hour drive to the hospital. Wright stayed behind to lock up. In the excitement, no one accounted for Buddy. Where was he?
Amazingly, Buddy was riding on the ambulance sidestep. He apparently hopped up there as the vehicle pulled away from the ranch. Refusing to be separated from Nickelson, Buddy rode on that step for a good 20 miles until a passing motorist saw him and alerted the ambulance driver.
“Isn’t This the Most Incredible Dog?”
Of course, the ambulance stopped and the paramedics bundled Buddy into the vehicle. When he was safe inside, they took off again.
“It was a crazy ordeal,” emergency medical technician Tanner Brown told the Associated Press. ”We didn’t have anything else to do but to load the dog up and put him in the ambulance and take him to the ER with us.”
Buddy got a bit mischievous on the ride, they say.
“It was kind of funny. We were inside and he had jumped onto the control switch and turned on the sirens and the lights,” Brown told the Star Tribune. “We didn’t know what was going on.”
Wright was astounded to see Buddy at the hospital when he got there himself.
“The first thing that flashed through my mind is ‘oh my god, what could have happened to Buddy’ and all these horrible things and the second thing was ‘isn’t this the most incredible dog?’” Wright told KETK News.
That running board probably looked like a good perch to Buddy because he’d developed a routine of riding along with Nickelson and Wright as they drove various vehicles around the ranch every day.
“He usually rides on the floorboards between the two of us,” Nickelson told KLST. “He doesn’t miss much.” Watch a video from HLN News about Buddy’s adventure here:
Fortunately, after treating him, the hospital released Nickelson that same day. He and Buddy went home together.
“I’m impressed with his loyalty and his idea that he’s going to help me and it was a help,” Nickelson told KLST. “I felt a little more comfortable [knowing he was there].”
Wright isn’t sure exactly why Buddy jumped on the ambulance, but he knows Buddy loves his guardian.
“Is it true loyalty or did he just want to go for a ride? I don’t have the answer; but, there’s definitely something about J.R. and Buddy that is very unique and heartwarming,” Wright told KLST.
This happy story should inspire people to do two things, Wright told ABC News: “Going to an animal shelter and helping a dog or thanking first responders.”
The love of a good dog is really something to behold. May Buddy and J.R. share many more years of devoted companionship — perhaps with a little less excitement.
most dogs are better than most people
There are very few humans that have the unconditional love and devotion of a dog.
You said that right Cynicles.