Dog rescued from a kill shelter helps save a man in distress

It was 3 degrees below zero in Watertown, Wisconsin, when Katey Higgins dropped her dog Jagger off at her parents’ house so they could pet-sit while she went to some appointments.

Even though the air was frigid on Feb. 17 and the yard was covered in snow and ice, her 4½-year-old adopted pup immediately rushed out to the back deck.

“Jagger always likes to go out and inspect his territory, even when it’s really cold,” she said. “He’ll go out there and bark at any squirrels. But this time, he gave a very unusual bark. I’d never heard him do it before.”

Higgins, 43, said she and her father, Peter Schubert, went outside to check on Jagger but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the backyard.

“Jagger went into this intense stance and was barking toward the left back corner of the house,” she said. “He kept turning around to look at us, like he was telling us to do something.”

She and her dad inspected the property and were shocked to find a man lying in the snow between the bushes and the side of the house. The man was wearing a jacket but didn’t have a hat on, Higgins said.

“He was unresponsive and seemed to be unconscious,” she said. “But then Jagger kept barking, and the man’s head moved a bit. We feared the worst because it was so cold.”

Higgins said that without Jagger, her parents probably wouldn’t have noticed the man because they don’t use the yard during the winter and the area where the man was found isn’t visible from their windows.

She said her dad called 911, and first responders arrived minutes later.

“They got him on a stretcher and took him to a hospital, and my dad said, ‘Wow, your rescue (dog) just rescued a life,’ ” Higgins said. “We were all in awe. If Jagger hadn’t alerted us, I believe the man would have died out there.”

She said she didn’t know who he was or how long he’d been there.

“Maybe he was just trying to get warm because there was warm air blowing from a vent at that side of the house,” she said. “We’ll probably never know.”

Higgins said footprints showed the man had walked across the frozen Rock River to her parents’ house. Police told her that he had a home.

Benjamin Olsen, an assistant chief for the Watertown Police Department, said in a statement to the Washington Post that drug use contributed to the man’s dire condition and his presence in the Schuberts’ yard and that drug possession charges against him have been forwarded to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

He said the man was treated for frostbite.

Higgins said she’s relieved that Jagger found the man in time.

“We’re just hopeful he has a new lease on life, and we hope he makes the most of it,” she said.

Higgins said she and her husband, Rob, adopted Jagger four years ago from the Watertown Humane Society.

“The Humane Society had rescued him from a kill shelter in Texas and saved his life,” she said. “So it’s heartwarming that Jagger has now helped to save a human’s life. The man wasn’t visible from the deck, so I think Jagger might have sensed he was out there through smell.”

Jagger is a 22-pound mixed breed and has always had a sweet nature, Higgins said.

“We don’t have children, so he’s the light of our life,” she said. “We’ve really incorporated him into our lives and wonder now how we ever did without him.”

After Milwaukee station TMJ4 reported on her dog’s backyard rescue, Higgins started hearing from people who wanted to thank Jagger for being a good boy. She said the best thanks would be a donation, big or small, to the Watertown Humane Society’s Paws for a Cause campaign to expand and improve the local shelter.

“Jagger has opened our hearts to the mission of the Humane Society,” Higgins said. “We’re thankful every day that we saw him and brought him home to become part of our family.”