The K9 Shelter Dog Who Rescued a Rescuer’s Son and Inspired a Movie!
Ruby the hero dog is about to be a movie star.
The rescue canine’s life story is the basis for the new Netflix film, Rescued by Ruby, which premieres on March 17. The movie will follow the dog’s remarkable journey from shelter pet at risk of being put down to hero police K9.
Ruby’s story starts at the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, where the energetic dog was returned five times after being adopted because of her hard-to-manage behavior.
Luckily, even after multiple false starts, shelter volunteer Patricia Inman stayed devoted to Ruby, training the dog and working to find her the ideal forever home so Ruby wouldn’t be euthanized.
The forever home ended up being with Corporal Dan O’Neil, then a Rhode Island State Trooper, who was looking for a dog to train for a spot on the Rhode Island State Police K9 Unit.
“I tried out for the K9 Unit for several years and just kept getting passed over. Then Ruby came into my life in 2011.
She was the first shelter dog to ever get adopted and put into police work in the Rhode Island State Police,” O’Neil, now the Rhode Island State Police K-9 Unit Coordinator, said.
“She was aggressive, food aggressive. She was very protective of herself because she had never been in a stable environment,” he added of the hurdles he helped Ruby overcome in their first months together.
