Benny is a hero to his owner following a lawn mower accident.
When Audrey Callaway of Mount Washington, Kentucky decided to mow her lawn, she didn't know that that would change her life forever. She hopped on her riding lawn mower and rode back and forth. When she came upon a hilly area, she drove the lawn mower towards it; however, something went horribly wrong. "I was mowing the yard. I was on the hill ...when I came around the hill the plastic seat that sits on the mower slid and it kind of slid me off, and when it slid, I landed this way and the mower just kind of came over my hand," recounted Callaway. The mower instantly severed her hand.
Although she was bleeding profusely and had begun to go into shock, she was able to turn off the mower. With only moments of consciousness left, she managed to crawl out of the ditch she was in and crawl up to the road. That's when Benny sprung into action.
Trained to stay in the yard and away from the road, the yellow Lab dashed to her side and then stood in the middle of the road to make sure no one hit his owner. "I do remember lying this way with my head on the road and there are cars everywhere and Benny was standing in the middle of the road and wouldn't move," Audrey said.
Soon a driver who was on his way to visit a neighbor spotted the Lab in the road and called the neighbor to see who the owner was. As he passed the dog, he saw Audrey lying on the ground and called for help. She was taken to the hospital where, although doctors could not save her hand, they were able to save her arm.
Audrey spent seven weeks in the hospital. While recovering, Benny was in the care of friends. After she was released, Benny was brought back to the house. Audrey says that he knew he was coming back home. "They said when they hit Waterford Road to bring him back. He was all over the place. He knew he was coming home. Isn't that awesome?" explained a tearful Audrey. "…to go in the road and stop traffic is pretty awesome. He's my hero dog."
Because of his outstanding loyalty and bravery toward saving a human in an emergency situation, Benny was nominated for the Annual Dogs of Valor award held by the Humane Society of the United States. "My dog saved me," Audrey said. "I truly believe that he kept me from bleeding to death."