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Loyal dog foils French woman’s suicide bid

A French woman's loyal German Shepherd dog saved her from committing suicide by knocking aside a rifle she tried to fire into her heart, local police said.

Published: 6 March 2013 09:34 CET

Loyal dog foils French woman's suicide bid

The woman's German shepherd, like the one pictured above, prevented her from committing suicide. Photo: Magnus Brath

The 63-year-old woman had walked into her garden in the southern town of Sorgues in the Vaucluse region, fired several test shots of a 22-calibre rifle and then turned the gun on her chest.

"At the moment she pulled the trigger, her dog jumped on her and diverted the shot," a local police officer told AFP, adding that the dog "probably sensed things and knocked into her to save her."

The woman was found by her husband, conscious but suffering from a chest wound. She was taken to hospital but her injury is not considered life-threatening.

According to the police the dog was "deeply affected" by the actions of her owner.

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Meet the German airport dog sniffing out huge bundles of cash

Here's an archive photo of Aki with some of her cash finds. Photo: DPA

Aki, a nine-year old Belgian Shepherd dog based at Frankfurt's international airport in Germany, sniffed out almost a quarter of million euros in cash from travellers in a few days.

Between the end of June and the start of July, Aki caught 12 passengers carrying a total of €247,280 ($290,540), according to the airport's customs office.

In one incident, the nosy mutt sniffed out almost €52,000 in the belt bag of a passenger.

Other cash was found in handbags, shoulder bags and inside jacket pockets.

“With her keen nose, Aki supports the custom officers… in the fight against tax evasion, money laundering and international terrorism,” said Isabell Gillmann, spokeswoman at the customs office in Frankfurt, Germany's business capital.

READ ALSO: Customs dog sniffs out €1.2 million in cash at Düsseldorf airport

All 12 travellers could face fines.

In 2019, customs officials in Frankfurt caught passengers carrying a total of around €23.6 million in undeclared cash.

According to EU laws in place since 2007, if passengers enter or leave the EU with €10,000 or more in cash, they must declare it and its origins to Customs.

These regulations are in place to help investigators detect any illegal activity involving high volumes of cash, such as drug trafficking or money laundering.

Corona dogs?

German sniffer dogs may also be put to use in the battle against coronavirus.

Researchers from Hanover's University of Veterinary Medicine found in July that man's best friend could detect Covid-19 in human samples, suggesting that in future they could be deployed in transport centres or sporting events.

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