Dispatcher Chris Scott answered the 911 call and tried to determine who needed help. "Hello, this is 911," Scott said, repeating the question several times. In the released recording, the only responses are the whimpers and barks of a dog.
Released 911 recording of Buddy's call to dispatcher Chris Scott in Scottsdale.
The caller was Buddy, Joe Stalnaker's trained German shepherd. Scottsdale police said Stalnaker had collapsed during a seizure on Wednesday, September 10, 2008, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Buddy took a cordless phone in his mouth and pressed a speed dial button programmed for 911.
According to Scottsdale police, Stalnaker's address was already flagged in the dispatch system. The notation explained that a trained assistance dog at the home could call 911 for its owner. Officers were dispatched and reached the house in about three minutes. Buddy met them at the door, barking loudly.
Stalnaker's seizures began after a head injury during a military training exercise about ten years earlier. He adopted Buddy as an 8-week-old puppy through Paws with a Cause, a Michigan nonprofit that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities. Stalnaker then trained Buddy to detect signs of an approaching seizure and retrieve the phone.
The September 10 call was the third time Buddy had successfully brought help to Stalnaker. The two previous seizures dated back to the prior month. Scottsdale police Sergeant Mark Clark described the circumstances as unusual even for experienced emergency personnel. "It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran dispatchers, they haven't heard of anything like this."
Stalnaker spent two days in the hospital after the seizure. He recovered fully.
