In 2022, eighty-one-year-old Harry Smith, who uses an electric wheelchair, was walking his beloved nine-year-old beagle mix, Sarah Jane, near a lake in Port St. Lucie, Florida, when the pleasant jaunt took a turn for the worse. Smith says that the left wheel of the chair “grabbed and spun me” and he wound up rolling down a grass embankment into the water. Smith can’t swim, could barely keep his head above the water, and without immediate help would have drowned.

Sarah Jane began to bark loudly, capturing the attention of Edward Suhling, 58, who was working on a trailer with Aby “Jacob” Chacko, 49. “Sensing his owner was in trouble, his dog began to bark loudly, which alerted two bystanders across the street,” the Port St. Lucie police department wrote in a Facebook post.

At first, Suhling thought the dog was being attacked by an alligator. Then he saw Smith’s head poking out of the water. Suhling and Chacko ran over to the pond, flagging down a police officer along the way.

Harry was out walking his dog, Sarah Jane, when his wheel got caught in the mulch, turning him around and down into the pond. Neighbors heard Sarah Jane barking and Harry yelling “HELP!” @PSLPolice were flagged down. They all helped him out, saving his life. @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/0s8fygh5zx— Andrew Lofholm (@AndrewLofholm) February 4, 2022

Harry was out walking his dog, Sarah Jane, when his wheel got caught in the mulch, turning him around and down into the pond. Neighbors heard Sarah Jane barking and Harry yelling “HELP!” @PSLPolice were flagged down. They all helped him out, saving his life. @CBS12 pic.twitter.com/0s8fygh5zx— Andrew Lofholm (@AndrewLofholm) February 4, 2022

Two strangers jumped in without hesitating

“As soon as I got here I saw the wheelchair and the dog and I recognized that’s Harry and I know he can’t walk,” Chacko said. Smith was in terror fighting for his life in the pond. “My legs don’t work,” he said. “I can’t push.”

“The dog was splashing in the water,” Suhling said. “So we both ran over here and I jumped in the water, and my buddy grabbed his arms and I grabbed his legs and we got him up on shore.”

After Smith was safely out of the water, the police officer administered medical attention and he was cleared to go home. Unfortunately, his wheelchair didn’t work, so the officer pushed him back to his home.

The Port St. Lucie Police Department later called Suhling, Chacko, and Sarah Jane heroes on its Facebook page. “We are thankful for Mr. Smith’s dog and the two bystanders that helped save his life!” the police department wrote on Facebook. “And as the saying remains true…A man’s best friend is his dog.

“She’s such a good dog,” Smith later said about Sarah Jane. “Everybody in this neighborhood loves her, they all look out for her.” After the pair made it home safely, Smith was sure to give his dog a treat. “I love her, always have, always will,” he said.

Why dogs know when their owners are in danger

While the dog’s heroics are pretty amazing, Sarah Jane knew that Smith was in danger and sprang into action for a couple of reasons. A lot of dogs have a strong fear of water. Not all of them love it like Labradors. If Sarah Jane was afraid of the water, she would have sensed her guardian was in serious danger.

Secondly, a 2020 study from Arizona State University tested whether dogs will help if they think their owner is in trouble. For the study, owners called out to the dog while appearing to be trapped inside a box. The dogs often attempted to free their owners after hearing them cry for help.

Beagles are known for being active and adventurous, but are they good swimmers? According to a vet-reviewed article at Dogster, Beagles aren’t known for their love of water, and if they can swim, it doesn’t mean that they enjoy it. They can learn how to swim, but they aren’t natural swimmers.

The story of Sarah Jane and her guardian Harry Smith proves, once again, that we just don’t deserve dogs.

This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.

A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a  gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing. 

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold. 

A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen. 

Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing. 

Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to  loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth. 

Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:

Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis 

Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community

Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or  in one of 60   countries where we work around the globe

Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door 

Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore

Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone. 

Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today. 

Have you ever watched a person who has only ever had dogs try to interact with a cat? When dog-only people encounter cats, the result can be a mix of entertaining, bewildering, and, occasionally, a bit dangerous.

Obviously, cats are not dogs, and treating a cat as if it was a dog may or may not go well for you. So, if you’re one of those dog lovers who find themselves at a loss for what to do with a cat when you’re around one, here are some things to know that may save you some scratches or humiliation.

Ditch the high energy, embrace a sense of aloofness

Dogs are often eager. Cats are usually aloof. With many dogs, the more excited you act, the more they’re like, “Hey, you my friend! We best buds! Let’s play and hang out!”

Cats do not play like that.

Approaching a cat with high energy puts them on edge. They might see you as a threat and become aggressive. Or they will simply “peace out” and leave the room. The best thing you can do if you want to make them comfortable is ignore them.

If you absolutely must approach a cat (because they’re just irresistibly cute), do so very slowly. But it’s really best to just sit on the floor and wait for them to come to you. Don’t try to force it. They might ignore you completely at first, or they might immediately come right up and start rubbing on you. There’s no way to know, so just wait.

Rubbing on you might mean ‘go ahead and pet me.’ But it might not.

If a cat rubs up against you, that’s a good sign. If you’re new to them, it means they’re already comfortable with you. But it’s not necessarily an open invitation to pet them, either. Cats are fickle. Before you get too excited and go in for some pets…

Offer them your fingers

Cats are big on smell. Before your hand touches their fur, they want to know what they’re dealing with. Try holding out a finger or two for them to sniff, preferably coming from below their head instead of above. After they’ve smelled you, they might stick around for pets, or they might not. If they do…

Don’t pet them like a dog

No to head pats. Yes to chin and cheek scratches. No to belly rubs unless their human gives you the green light. (Most cats will destroy your hand if you try to rub their belly, but some love it.) No to hard strokes down their back, at least at first. Cats all have different touch preferences, so gently trying around their chin, cheeks, shoulders, and back is the best way to start.

Happy Cats Haven shared these signs to watch for that indicate a cat might not like the way you’re petting it:

Ears flattening or flicking

Tail thumping or thrashing

Turning head toward the petting

Your hands are not toys

Playing with cats can be a blast. They are predators with excellent hunting skills, so play involves stalking, chasing, and attacking. But to save yourself some painful scratches, use a laser pointer or a cat toy on a string, not your hand. (They’re not likely to actually play with your hand anyway. And if they do, you might regret it.)

@ellie_thetabby Her new toy obsession #cats#pets#trending ♬ original sound – bojackeats

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