Animals Doing Good In The World

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A big part of your NCS experience is doing good in your local community. Whether you’re supporting LGBTQ+ rights, giving advice on looking after your mental health, sprucing up a nursing home, or keeping the local environment clean, you do things to help out others and create a positive impact. And while animals can’t start up eBay accounts for charity shops (that we know of!) or provide PPE in a pandemic, they can do a lot of good for a lot of humans all over the world! Check out some of our favourite stories of furry friends being absolutely amazing…

A parrot to the rescue

In 2009, a parrot called Willie was honoured by the Red Cross for saving the life of toddler Hannah. During breakfast, Hannah began to choke. Her babysitter Megan (and owner of Willie), was out of the room at the time, so Willie started flapping his wings and calling “Mama, baby”! Megan heard his calls and ran back into the room to find Hannah turning blue. She performed the Heimlich and saved Hannah’s life! Because of Willie’s genius thinking and fast reactions, Hannah was fine...and Willie got an award. Amazing! Read the full story here. 

A whale of a time….twice

When Yang Yun was taking part in a freediving competition, without breathing equipment, in a tank of whales, the last thing she thought would happen was to freeze up. Literally. The water was extremely cold, and Yang’s leg cramped at 20 feet, meaning she couldn’t move and started to drown. Luckily, Mila the Beluga whale was on her side! Mila has worked with humans for a long time, and could see that Yang was in trouble, so she took control. Gently taking Yang’s legs, Mila pushed her to the surface! Read the full story here. 

As if one amazing whale wasn’t enough...when marine biologist Nan was swimming in the waters off Cook Islands close to a humpback whale, a tiger shark started to approach. At first Nan thought it was another whale, but when she noticed it’s tail fin going left or right instead of up and down, she knew she could be in trouble. The humpback had other plans though. Using its head and mouth, and covering Nan with a fin, the whale gently pushed her to the surface and out of harm's way of the shark. Nan believes this is proof of the whale's intuitive nature to protect other species of animal - including humans! Read the full story here. 

Man’s best friend

At the beginning of this year, 81 year old Brian was out on a walk with his labrador Hugo, when he slipped and fell into a freezing canal. Hugo, loyal and ever, stayed by the side of the canal. When passerby Gregor noticed a dog, sitting alone, he thought it was a little strange, so he went over to check out what was going on. It was then that he saw Brian lying face down in the canal. Gregor started shouting for assistance, and with the help of a few others, they were able to pull Brian out. Thankfully he made a full recovery. Hugo is proof that dogs really are a man’s best friend, and won’t ever leave your side! Read the full story here.

Another dog proving love has no boundaries is golden retriever Lily, who has ‘adopted’ a lamb named Benny. Benny’s sheep mum gave birth to three lambs, but was only able to look after two of them. So, Benny’s human mum/owner brought him into the house, and it was love at first sight for Lily! She took him under her wing (or paw?) and made him feel like one of her own pups. And it seems Benny is just as happy, playing with the other dogs in the house, going on family walks, and generally feeling all the love. Read the full story here.

One final dog saving the day story, with Khan the doberman. Khan lives in Australia with his family, who have a toddler called Charlotte. Whilst playing in the garden one day, Charlotte came across a king brown snake (the world’s third most venomous snake!) and kept trying to poke it. But Khan knew that wasn’t a good idea and literally grabbed Charlotte by the nappy and threw her over his shoulder out of harm’s way. The snake managed to bite Khan on the leg, but he received a dose of anti venom and was totally fine. What a brave boy! Read the full story here. 

Pig hearted

Another award winning animal, this time it’s Lulu the pig! Lulu was awarded the coveted Tiffany gold hero's medal from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, after saving her owner's life. In 1998, when her husband was out of town, and she was alone in the house (apart from the pets!) Lulu’s owner JoAnn suffered from a heart attack. She tried calling for help but collapsed on the floor. Her dog started to bark, but nothing came of it. And that’s when Lulu sprung to action. She forced her way out of the garden, causing her skin to bleed, and onto the street, where she plopped down in the road and played dead. When a driver passed by and became concerned for Lulu, she jumped back up, led him to the home and he was able to call the ambulance for JoAnn! Doctors say if it had been 15 minutes longer, JoAnn wouldn’t have made it. Looks like Lulu really saved JoAnn’s bacon on this one...Read the full story here. 

So, all in all, animals are pretty great really aren’t they? Do you know any other amazing stories? Let us know over at @NCS! And hey, maybe these guys have inspired you for your social action project...