In the news: Doberman puppy saves drowning man

I'm already sold on the Doberman breed, I know. I don't need any convincing that they're truly remarkable dogs, fantastic companions, and exceedingly smart.  So, I was intrigued but unsurprised when I saw a Yahoo! news story about a Doberman puppy saving a man's life.

Elka, not the hero puppy, at around the same age but probably older.

The puppy, at 14 weeks, was walking on a beach in Mumbles, U.K. (what a name!) when the puppy apparently started barking, with his paws in the water.  Apparently the puppy (who isn't named in the article, which I think is poor reporting) isn't really a fan of the water so the owner, smart man, took notice.  Apparently, a swimmer was caught in the current and exhausted, effectively drowning.  The puppy's owner hied to the lifesaving station and they got the guy out of the water.

Now, Elka has done things like notice if the water on the stove is boiling, alerts me to a migraine, and knows if a person is sad.  But these happen in the home, with people she knows.  This guy out in the water was undoubtedly a stranger to the Anonymous Doberman puppy, and yet, the little guy still assessed something was wrong, and was concerned for his welfare.  Yeah, I anthropomorphize a bit but, well, these dogs express an intelligence sometimes that seems to go beyond "animal". Or perhaps we should just take the gloves off and admit that humans are, in fact, still animals.

Even if Hero Puppy didn't think to himself "Oi, that bloke's drowning!" (he's from the UK, how else would he think to himself?), he still noticed a human in the water, and exhibited behavior he would not otherwise (paws in the water).  That's a little more than a coincidence.  And I hope he got a special dinner that night!  Maybe his owner will consider a hobby in Search and Rescue, as his dog is clearly a natural.