Banner is a service dog with a warm heart. She is not only dedicated to helping disabled owner Whitney Braley, but also wholeheartedly helping other animals in need and taking care of them.
The 3-year-old Husky has been with Whitney since she was a puppy, and Whitney has personally trained Banner to assist her and others in many things.
“She alerts to PTSD episodes, anxiety attacks, migraines, guidework, momentum pull, medication retrieval, self harm interruption and a few more,” Whitney said.
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“We do a lot of rescue, and she’s always attached to kittens. Two years ago I had my first bottle baby kitten that was found in a ditch, and Banner raised her. That particular cat still lives with us but she’s fostered at least ten different liters of kittens over the years. This is the first time SHE found something like this,” Whitney added.
What she saw was a heartbreaking sight. A sealed cardboard box in the woods, with seven newborn kittens inside, barely a day old and dying of cold. Banner alerted Whitney and led her to the woods, where she opened the box and extracted the little kittens one by one.
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“Someone must have just put them into a cardboard box, closed the lid tight and left them there to die,” Whitney said. “They probably thought that no one would ever discover them. I don’t even know how Banner knew they were in there. The kittens were freezing and weren’t meowing or anything.”
“It makes me sick that anyone could do that to these tiny innocent animals. It’s so cruel and heartless.”
Since that moment, Banner hasn’t left the kittens side and has adopted them as if they were her own. Although Whitney sterilized Banner, she’s very maternal.
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“Now I will find the kittens appropriate homes, that will love them forever. Our local shelter kills in three days, so it’s best if I do it myself. That’s the reason I always end up fostering babies. I don’t want them to die.”
“I’m so happy that now because of Banner, these kittens will go on to live their lives with loving families. It warms my heart.”
Banner is a true hero, dedicated to helping other creatures and animals of all kinds.