PROVIDENCE – K-9 Ruby of the R.I. State K-9 Unit has been named the National Search and Rescue Dog of the Year, according to the R.I. State Police Thursday.
Ruby, who is also a finalist for the 2018 American Humane Hero Dog Award (announced Sept. 29 at the Hero Dog Awards Gala in Hollywood), was nominated for national recognition after saving a life in a search and rescue case from fall 2017. In Glocester, Ruby and trooper Daniel O’Neil found a teenage boy who had been missing for two days barely conscious in the woods.
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The boy’s mother was a volunteer at the local animal shelter where Ruby had been staying and had fostered Ruby after several failed placements. Ruby was scheduled to be put down just hours before she was adopted by the R.I. State Police K-9 Unit.
“You can think what you may, but I believe that was Ruby’s way of saying thank you to [the boy’s mother] for taking care of her during her rough beginning. Ruby was given a chance at life and ended up saving a life. With the efforts of two organizations [R.I. State Police and the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] and a handful of amazing and dedicated people, great things can happen,” O’Neil said on the American Humane website.
Ruby and O’Neil were selected as one of seven finalists from 266 nominees for the 2018 Hero Dog Award, which will be broadcast on Hallmark Channel this fall.
“Ruby is Rhode Island’s top dog. If not for her efforts, a young man’s life could have been lost. Ruby really is a hero. I commend the R.I. State Police for rescuing Ruby and training her for this important work,” Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said.
Ruby was also named as one of the 25 Most Heroic Dogs in America in a USA Today article.
Haley Hunt is a PBN contributing writer.
