Having a dog in the family can be a true blessing. Their loyalty and protective instincts often turn them into unexpected heroes when we need them most.
That’s exactly what happened to Canadian veteran Darren Cropper from Bonfield, Ontario. He owns Bear, a mix of Siberian husky and golden retriever, who ended up saving his life.
In August 2022, Darren woke up early one morning and went downstairs to watch some TV. Suddenly, everything went black—he collapsed and lost consciousness due to a massive heart attack.
“I wasn’t in any pain, but everything felt fuzzy,” Cropper told CTV News. “I was coming downstairs … When I hit the bottom step, that’s all I could remember.”
If it weren’t for Bear, Darren might not have survived. The one-year-old puppy climbed onto Darren’s chest and started jumping up and down, much like giving him CPR. Bear did this for hours, pressing so hard that his paw prints were left on Darren’s chest, according to the National Post.
Darren’s wife, Janice, heard Bear howling from downstairs. When she went to see what was wrong, she found her husband unconscious on the floor. She called 911 immediately, and Darren was rushed to the hospital. He woke up to see his dog jumping on his chest.
Darren underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Doctors told him he had suffered a “widowmaker” heart attack, where the arteries from his right lung to his heart had shut down. They said Bear’s actions had kept him alive.
“If Bear hadn’t jumped on my chest, I wouldn’t be alive,” Cropper told the National Post. “Basically, he did Puppy CPR and got my blood flowing. No one taught him that, but both his parents were service dogs. I guess it’s in him, his instinct.”
Grateful for his hero dog, Darren found comfort in Bear when he returned home and during his long recovery. “When I first saw him when I got home, he came right to me and jumped in my arms and I just broke down crying,” Cropper told CTV News.
Two years after that scary incident, Bear’s life-saving actions have not been forgotten. Recently, he was honored as a 2024 inductee into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame, which celebrates animals that have shown remarkable courage and heroism.
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We are thrilled to share 2024’s inductees Maggie May and Bear for the prestigious Purina #AnimalHallofFame program, marking a total of 194 inductees since 1968! Prepared to be moved by their incredible stories: https://t.co/6bfBv0Ssw5#pets #dogs #PurinaCanada pic.twitter.com/7TOets03e6
— Purina Canada (@PurinaCanada) September 16, 2024
Toledo, United States.