The K9 Shelter Dog Who Rescued a Rescuer’s Son and Inspired a Movie!

Thanks to O’Neil’s and Iman’s faith in her, Ruby started to thrive. After working on her behavior with O’Neil for a year, Ruby went through a human remains detection class and passed “with flying colors,” according to her partner, and went on to pass a search and rescue class shortly after. In 2012, Ruby became a certified state trooper with the Rhode Island State Police.

“It was quite a feat because this is the dog that wouldn’t even sit for five seconds. To pass the test, I had to have her minimally sit for five minutes,” O’Neil said. 

No one knew then how Ruby would pay it forward to the shelter worker who saved her life. In 2017, O’Neil received a call from Rhode Island’s Gloucester Police Department, asking for assistance locating a missing boy that had been missing for over 36 hours.

After six hours of searching, Ruby located the missing boy and stayed by his side with O’Neil until rescuers came to take the child to the hospital. 

Once the boy was on his way to safety, Ruby and O’Neil met the child’s family and were shocked to find that Iman, the shelter volunteer who never quit on Ruby, was the missing boy’s mother. 

“She started to cry. I started to cry,” O’Neil said of he and Iman’s reactions to realizing that Ruby rescued her rescuer. 

“Even six years after not seeing her, Ruby was wagging her tail and jumping up on Pat, giving her kisses,” the corporal added. “I told Pat, ‘Pat, this was Ruby’s way of saying thank you for giving her a chance.’”

Rescued by Ruby dives into this touching story and celebrates what a rescue dog can do when they get the opportunity to shine. Ruby is still shining today, well into her 11th year as a trooper with the Rhode Island State Police.