Rocky, a remarkable five-month-old puppy in Siyathi village, Himachal Pradesh, became a hero when his urgent barking saved 63 lives from a devastating monsoon landslide. During the early morning hours of June 30th, as heavy rains poured down, Rocky began barking and howling in an unusual way that immediately caught the attention of his owner, Lalit Kumar. When Lalit investigated, he discovered a large crack in his house wall with water rushing in, and from his vantage point, he could see a massive landslide rapidly approaching the village. Acting quickly, Lalit grabbed Rocky and ran from house to house, waking all 22 families and urging them to flee to higher ground immediately.
The villagers trusted Lalit’s urgent warnings and evacuated just in time, leaving their homes and belongings behind. Minutes after the last family escaped to safety, the landslide tore through Siyathi village, completely destroying or severely damaging nearly a dozen homes and burying several others under debris. Remarkably, not a single person was injured, and all 63 villagers survived unharmed thanks to Rocky’s sharp instincts and Lalit’s quick response. Former village head Desraj expressed the community’s gratitude, saying “It was our luck, and the dog’s actions, that saved us,” while the displaced families have found temporary shelter at the nearby Naina Devi temple, supported by government aid and community solidarity.