Rosco

CALGARY, ALBERTA

Rosco is a three-year-old large Shepherd mixed breed from Calgary, Alberta. Rosco was one of eight puppies born to a stray dog that lived under the steps of a firehall. After being left behind when a rescue team picked up his mother and her litter, Brittany Ouellette adopted Rosco and brought him into her home where she lived with her father, Bryan, as well as her partner, and her baby son, Bennett.

On the morning of November 3rd, 2018, Brittany and her family decided to take a day trip to the Banff mountains. Since her father, Bryan, wasn’t feeling well that day, he decided not to join the family on the hike. Brittany decided to leave Rosco at home with her father to keep him company.

Bryan was lying in bed, watching the football game and needed to get up to use the washroom. As he tried to get up, he realized he wasn’t able to. He then attempted to roll out of bed and fell onto the bedroom floor. The whole left side of his body was numb, and he realized he was having a stroke. Unable to call for help, Bryan used his right foot to lightly tap on the floor and get Rosco’s attention.

Rosco heard the tapping and came to the bedroom to find Bryan. As Rosco approached the bed, Bryan was able to grab hold of Rosco’s collar with his right hand. Rosco then swung Bryan around, allowing him to reach a bracket on the side of the bed, which he then used to prop himself up, grab his phone on the bed, and call 9-1-1. With the ambulance on the way, Bryan grabbed onto Rosco’s collar again and let Rosco pull him gently down the hall to the front door. The paramedics arrived at the house within minutes, and took Bryan to the hospital to undergo emergency surgery.

Brittany and her family, who were still up in the mountains, received the call that Bryan had suffered a stroke and was in surgery. They rushed back to the city where they waited for several hours in the hospital waiting from to see Bryan after this surgery.

Bryan survived the stroke and has made an incredible recovery thanks to Rosco’s quick support to help him in a dire situation. If Rosco wasn’t there to intervene and the paramedics reached Bryan any later, the damage from the stroke could have cost Bryan his life.