Real-life Lassie: Devoted dog saves the life of her owner by leading cops to him after he he crashed into a ditch and thrown from the vehicle
- A one-year-old Shiloh Shephard in New Hampshire, called Tinsley, led police to the scene of a car crash that left her owner was involved in on Monday
- Hailed as a real-life ‘Lassie,’ Tinsley ran down a highway on the New Hampshire border with Vermont, prompting motorists to alert state patrol
- When police officers spotted the dog and tried to catch it, she kept running and led them into Vermont
- The officers eventually spotted a gap in the guard rail and discovered a badly damaged pickup truck that had rolled over
- Tinsley’s owner, Cam Laundry, 31, and another passenger were found injured and suffering from hypothermia
- Laundry was not seriously hurt in the crash, and said Tinsley would be rewarded with venison for showing such intelligence and devotion
- ‘She’s my little guardian angel’ he said. ‘It’s a miracle that she had that kind of intelligence to do what she did’
A dog in New Hampshire was being hailed as a real-life ‘Lassie’ Tuesday after leading police to the scene of a serious car crash that left her owner injured and suffering from hypothermia.
The one-year-old dog, a breed known as a Shiloh Shepherd called Tinsley, ran down where Interstates 89 and 91 meet, in Hartford, on the New Hampshire border with Vermont late Monday, prompting motorists to alert the highway patrol.
Cops arrived at the scene and initially mistook Tinsley for a stray. But when they tried to catch her, she kept running and led them into Vermont, where the officers spotted a gap in the guard rail and discovered a badly damaged pickup truck that had rolled over.
Two people, including Tinsley’s owner, Cam Laundry, 31, had been thrown from the vehicle and were already suffering from the onset of hypothermia. The passenger was Justin Connors, 40, who is described as ‘fine,’ having escaped with minor injuries.
Tinsley, a one-year-old Shiloh Shephard, ran to New Hampshire State Police on Monday to bring them where her owner and another passenger were injured and suffering from hypothermia after their truck had flipped over in Hartford, New Hampshire
The scene of the severe car crash, where 31-year-old Cam Laundry, Tinsley’s owner and Justin Connors, 40 were found injured and suffering from hypothermia on Monday on New Hampshire’s border with Vermont
‘It quickly became apparent that Tinsley led (law enforcement) to the crash site and injured occupants,’ New Hampshire police said in a statement on their Facebook page.
‘They could tell the dog was trying to show them something because she kept trying to get away from them but didn’t run away totally,’ New Hampshire police officer Daniel Baldassarre told local news channel WCVB.
‘It was kind of, ‘Follow me. Follow me.’ And they did that and, to their surprise, to see the guardrail damaged and to look down to where the dog is looking at, they were almost in disbelief.’
‘I kind of compare it to, for those who remember, a real-life ‘Lassie’ story, where the people are in distress and the dog goes and gets help and brings them right to where the person is,’ said Baldassarre.
As emergency rescue workers began their medical care of the injured, the dog ‘sat there nice and calm right next to its owner,’ said Captain Jack Hedges of the Hartford fire department.
Tinsley’s owner said she would be highly rewarded with venison for her potentially life-saving deed
Laundry was not seriously hurt in the crash, and said Tinsley would be highly rewarded with venison for showing such intelligence and devotion.
‘She’s my little guardian angel’ he told WCVB. ‘It’s a miracle that she had that kind of intelligence to do what she did.’
Vermont State Police are opening an investigation on what led up to the crash, according to a VSP spokesman.
Laundry said an interview that he had some drinks earlier that night, but he added that he didn’t think he had too much to affect his driving.
‘It definitely was a wake-up call,’ Laundry said. ‘It all could’ve been a lot worse.’