Dog's unusual barking stopped stranger in his tracks—following the dog, he bravely saved 2 lives in the woods

The dog was behaving strangely and the man felt that something was off and needed to be checked upon.

PUBLISHED 12 HOURS AGO

(L) The man talking about the incident. (R) The dog who barked to get the man's attention. Cover Image Source: YouTube | WTAE-TV

Following one's intuition when something feels off can alter how things pan out in a situation. So when a man decided to follow a barking dog in a strange situation, he ended up saving two unresponsive people's lives. The man, Gary Thimons, was playing with his dog at a dog park when another dog approached him and started barking to get his attention. Thimons felt something was weird about the dog's behavior and decided to follow him down the street, where he found two people who needed emergency help, per WTAE-TV Pittsburgh.

A man at a dog park with his dog. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Oscar Romero Ruiz

"I am really glad that he did what he did. He really got my attention," Thimons expressed. "He came just close enough to me to be out of arm's reach and then he would bark, turn around, get away a few steps, turn around and bark again. It felt like he was trying to get my attention." The man had a strong feeling that the dog wanted him to follow where he was going. He left his dog at the park with a friend and decided to follow the dog, trying to take him somewhere. At first, Thimons was worried that the dog was alone and could be in danger because of the traffic on Chestnut Street, but when they reached their destination, he understood that there was more to the story.

A dog barking in an outdoor space. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Tudor Costache

"He led me to a tent encampment. First, I saw a gentleman and I tried to get his attention, wake him up, but he wouldn't. He was completely unresponsive; I couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not." Thimons added, "Then I turned around and noticed a pair of legs sticking out of the tent and I tried to shake them. It was a woman and they wouldn't respond to me as well." The man immediately called 911 and police and first responders arrived at the scene soon enough. An unresponsive male and female were taken to the hospital, per Pittsburgh Public Safety. Thimons explained that he could understand the people's situation as a person in recovery himself.

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"As someone in recovery myself who's dealt with similar issues that they have, 16 months sober, I know how quickly you need to react to save someone's life." Because of his experiences, Thimons decided to call the police immediately and get help as fast as he could. The man appreciated the dog for what he did in such a situation and how he saved two people's lives. "He is a persistent little puppy; he is amazing. And he definitely saved some lives yesterday." Thimons took the dog into his care as the two people were still at the hospital at that time.

This wasn't the only time a dog saved a person's life. A retired service dog, Bear, was taking a walk for rehabilitation and recovery after a surgery when he noticed something unusual, per Thin Blue Paw Foundation. The 12-year-old dog could sense something and led his owner, Julia Pope, to an undergrowth where a man was lying in a severe condition. He was cold and wet and might not have made it through the night if Bear hadn't tracked him down. They later found out that the man was a vulnerable, missing person and the officers hadn't been able to find him even after searching for quite some time. Bear was awarded the "Thin Blue Paw Lifesaver Award" for his quick actions and work in saving the man.