Figo takes on a minibus and saves his owner

A guide dog that leapt into the path of a minibus bearing down on his owner has astounded witnesses.

Police, veterinarians and witnesses in the village of Brewster, New York, who saw the dog hurl himself between his owner and an oncoming school minibus said Figo, an 8-year-old golden retriever, had been prepared to sacrifice his life to save his owner.

The driver had not seen Audrey Stone, 62, making her way across a pedestrian crossing with her guide dog.

‘‘I don’t know if [the driver] thought [Stone] was going to move faster, but it looks like the dog tried to take most of the hit for her,’’ Mark Schwartz, the manager of a local petrol station, told The Journal News.

John Del Gardo, Brewster’s police chief, said the dog ‘‘took a lot of the blow’’.

Fur could be seen stuck to the side wheel of the bus.

The dog suffered a broken right front leg and a deep laceration.

Stone was said to have suffered fractures to her right elbow, three ribs and ankle, and a cut head.

A spokeswoman for Middlebranch Veterinary hospital, where Figo was treated, said he was ‘‘doing really really great’’.

Stone told The Journal News that her guide dog had performed similar protective feats in the past and had once thrown himself in front of an onrushing shopping trolley.

She thought this latest feat of bravery deserved official recognition. ‘‘He needs the Purple Heart from the president,’’ she said. Guide dog hero golden retriever Figo at home with his injuries after taking on a minibus to save his owner.