Gabby is a Pit Bull Terrier who was abused before she was adopted by
Jeanne Davis. The Auburn, CA woman was told that she should put the dog down but
Davis disagreed. She had been training the Pit Bull to be less apprehensive around
people and thankfully the training paid off.
When Jim Roach decided to pick peaches on his rural property, he fell from his 12-foot
ladder. Unable to move because of his injuries, Roach was dazed and confused but
remembers something licking the side of his face and barking. It seems that two-year-old
Gabby had found Roach and when no one came to his rescue, she took a page straight
from a Lassie movie, and went for help.
About 100 yards away, Davis heard Gabby barking and thought that someone had entered
her property; however, her other dog was quiet. When Davis saw Gabby, she was still
barking, looking at her owner and running back. Davis decided to follow Gabby.
When she reached her neighbor and landlord Roach, she found him on the ground moaning
in pain. She contacted the police who dispatched a California Highway Patrol helicopter
to air-lift the injured college instructor to the nearest trauma unit for emergency
treatment. Roach was treated for a fractured clavicle, two cracked vertebrae, four
broken ribs and bleeding on the brain and spent a week in the hospital.
His first visitor after he was discharged was Gabby and he and the Pit Bull have
formed a strong bond. Roach says that "the incident is a good example of the more
endearing side of pit bulls that doesn't receive media attention". He feels that
they (Pit Bulls) have never been given a fair shake.