Brighten Your Day

‘Something Told Me To Follow Him’: Pit Bull Leads Stranger To Save Two Lives

August 8, 2025

What started as a normal evening at the park turned into a life-saving mission — all thanks to one determined dog.

Gary Thynes had just taken his own dog out to play near his Pittsburgh apartment when an unfamiliar pit bull appeared, leash dragging behind him. The dog stayed just out of reach, barking and moving away, only to turn back again.

@gary.thynes2 on Facebook

"Something put the idea in my head, VERY STRONGLY, that this dog wanted me to follow him,” Gary shared in a Facebook post.

Following his instincts, he went after the dog. A woman who had pulled over to help joined him, and Gary told her he thought the animal was trying to get help for someone. The pit bull eventually led them down a secluded path behind train tracks, where Gary found two tents.

“There was a gentleman laying on a red couch back there, but I couldn’t get him to respond to me… so I called 911,” Gary recalled. Moments later, he and first responders discovered another person nearby who was also unresponsive.

Police and medics arrived quickly, and both individuals — a man and a woman — were rushed to the hospital.

Gary, who is in recovery from heroin addiction, felt a deep personal connection to the moment.

“As someone in recovery myself, I know how important the unconditional love of your dog can be, and how much love they have for you, even at your worst,” he said.

Worried about the dog’s future, Gary learned from animal control that he would be taken to a pound far from the city — a place the owners might not be able to reach or afford. So, he offered to take the dog home with him.

The woman who had stopped to help turned out to be a social worker who knew the two individuals personally. She planned to visit them in the hospital and let them know their dog was safe.

Gary said he will care for the pit bull until his humans are well enough to reunite with him. The pup is a little thin and has an eye infection, but Gary is determined to help “the little hero” who may have saved two lives that night.

“This experience has been surreal,” Gary wrote. “It only reaffirms to me that God is real and he speaks to you… if you choose to listen; and I’m so glad that I did.”