Melissa Lambert doesn’t want to adopt a dog. Her husband, Thom, has been happy to bring a fluffy family member home for years, but Melissa is not on board. However, she regularly takes her three daughters to their local animal shelter to love the pets there, but she hasn’t thought of bringing one home yet. That is, until she meets Edgar.
Edgar was a brown and white Treeing Walker Coonhound, a handsome boy, or, as Thom Lambert put it, very handsome.
“Sweet demeanor. It’s great for the girls when they come to visit.”
Melissa didn’t know what it was about Edgar that drew her to him, but she knew he belonged in her home. The sudden change of heart was a welcome surprise for Thom and he encouraged her to apply for his adoption. They didn’t know what big difference it would make.
Edgar joined the Lambert family with ease. He loves their daughter and is laid-back, quick to learn.
“He is extremely lazy. Horribly sweet. It took a week to train him to potty train. And he’s the girls’ best friend.”
Not long after he moved into their home, Edgar proved to be more incredible than the family could have imagined.
On the night of April 28, the family returned home after midnight from a funeral in the suburbs. Thom and Melissa went upstairs to put their girls in their beds, then settled themselves in their room with Edgar sleeping in his familiar spot nearby. Just a few hours later, Edgar got up and started barking like crazy. Thom describes the episode to iHeartDogs:
“It woke up and started howling and growling. Like he never had before. It is with anger and violence in it. And it’s unbelievable not to be like him.”
Edgar’s prolific shock shocks Thom and Melissa, who say he’s usually very calm. They had only seen something like this once before – on the previous Wednesday and there was no explanation for that. But then Thom heard footsteps from the kitchen downstairs.
Thom rushed into the kitchen and found the window and door open. He and his wife made sure everything was locked before going to bed. They have become more vigilant about the safety of their home since the kidnapping of a little girl not far from where they live. The perpetrator has yet to be caught and with the three little girls, they have to be extra careful.
Taking two knives from the kitchen, Thom rushed upstairs to check on his daughter. All three were still in their beds. He woke them up, moved them into the bedroom with his mother and Edgar, left Melissa with a knife, called 911, and checked the rest of the house to make sure the intruder was still not in the house.
When the police arrived, they confirmed that there was no one else in the house, and Thom told them that Edgar was the one who warned him something was wrong. The officers were surprised that the lazy-looking dog sleeping on the floor could be responsible for saving their family.
“He doesn’t seem like a guard dog. It’s just not in his wheelhouse. “
Tomorrow the police arrested a 20-year-old man who admitted to entering Lambert’s house with the intention of kidnapping one of their daughters. He told police he had been wandering the neighborhood, looking for children who appeared to be left unattended, hoping to catch one. Upon entering the house, he heard Edgar’s barking and said he realized it was a warning from a dog that would protect his family – not the excited barking of a dog wanting to meet him. The aggression in Edgar’s voice sent him running out of the kitchen door, leaving the Lamberts girls safe in their beds.
And the last time that Edgar acted for no apparent reason? Police told Thom that the man had been at the house before.
“He just went that crazy on Wednesday night of that week. And that night the kidnapper took another little girl with him. Police confirmed that he passed our house that night through his confession. He wanted to get here first, but Edgar and I still had time. Special thanks. God.”
That night the man heard Edgar and decided to leave rather than risk facing the source of the bark. He take a 4-year-old girl from another house instead – which caused the Lamberts to be extra careful with locking their windows and doors. She was bound with duct tape and kept in a wooden box, but somehow she escaped when her kidnapper left for work. Since the girl was now out of his reach, he decided to try the Lamberts’ house again. Edgar saved them twice.
Melissa shared the following words in a post on the Antietam Humane Society Facebook page,
“If it weren’t for him waking us up so we knew someone was in our house, our lives and our daughter’s life would be so different. He will forever be one of my greatest heroes. He came from a shelter dog, it was not adopted in West Virginia and sent to the Antietam Humane Society, on the grounds that my girls are sleeping soundly in their beds right now. “
This brave dog is being praised for his actions, most especially from PETA, who are celebrating him as a hero, and Lambert Girls School! Thom said neighbors brought him food and he got a lot of love from their community.
Thom wanted to shift the focus of the terrible event from what could have happened to what had happened – Edgar had kept his children safe. He also helped bring justice to the other girl’s family and could have prevented more efforts!
“When you hear more details about what happened, it’s horrifying to look at. But the intruder’s mission failed and he was quickly apprehended. So I consider it a win.”
Edgar’s adoption timing couldn’t be more perfect. Thom had always wanted a dog, but surely fate (or Melissa’s amazing intuition) had brought the right dog into their family at the right time.
“I want a VERY BAD dog! The wife never did. However, she fell in love with him before taking our girls to the shelter and meeting him. And then day by day, his attraction to her continued! I have been begging for a dog for 7 years! So when she came up to me and said ‘I love a dog,’ I was in shock!
“It sucks right now to think we got this dog for any other reason than we wanted to. Everything had to be going the right way for him to be present at that moment. “
H/T: PennLive.com
All photos provided by Thom Lambert for use
