Dog Leaps in Front of Oncoming Bus to Save Hudson Valley Woman

Meet Bigo, a service dog. Bigo was with his owner, Audry Stone, a Brewster woman who is blind. When an oncoming mini-bus was heading right for Stone, Bigo leapt in front of the bus to attempt to protect her. Lohud.com reportsthat the driver of the Brewster school bus, who was carrying two kindergartners told police he didn't see the pair crossing the road as they made their way home Monday morning.

Brewster Police Chief John Del Gardo said that the 62-year-old Stone suffered a fractured right elbow, three broken ribs, a fractured ankle and a cut to her head in the accident. Paul Schwartz, who manages the Xtra Mart gas station at the intersection said that Bigo's leg was cut down to the bone. Schwartz helped at the site of accident and told Lohud

I don't know if (the driver) thought (Stone) was going to move faster, but it looks like the dog tried to take most of the hit for her. There were 15 EMTs and people all around her and the dog didn't want to leave her side. He was flopping over to her and she didn't want him to get away from her, either. She kept screaming, 'Where's Bigo? Where's Bigo? Where's Bigo?' We kept telling her he was fine.

Schwartz and one of the EMTs bandaged Bigo's right leg.

The dog was being a good sport, really calm. He sat with me the whole time. He was limping as we put him on a big blanket on the sidewalk and it started to rain. He let us wrap up his leg without any problem. He wasn't barking or crying or yelping. But he kept pulling toward her. After she was put on a gurney and taken away, he stopped doing that. He seemed a little lost after she left.

There are rules against transporting animals in ambulances. Schwartz told reporters that Stone was very upset as she was getting in the ambulance and that Bigo wasn't with her. Since there are guidelines against transporting animals in ambulances, Bigo was placed in a Brewster Fire Department truck and taken to the vet.

A staff member at Middlebranch Veterinary in Patterson confirmed that Bigo was being treated there on Monday. Brewster Police Chief Del Gardo said later that the dog was undergoing surgery on its leg. Del Gardo told Lohud The driver of the mini-bus was given a summons for failing to yield to a pedestrian.

The dog took a lot of the blow. And he did not want to leave her side. He stood right with her. He was there to save her.

The chief said Stone, interviewed in her hospital bed, was happy to hear that Bigo was being treated and that friends are working out the details of the dog's care while Stone recovers.