Purina Hall of Fame Honors Four Incredible Dogs

March 23, 2001 Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The 33rd Annual Purina Animal Heroes Hall of Fame convened this week in Toronto, bestowing Canada's highest honors to the animals of the nation.

Tails were awag as Purina presented medals for courage, loyalty and intelligence to this year's four inductees: Caleigh, Stub, Lilly and Bandit.  Below is a summary of their heroic accomplishments.

Caleigh

Caleigh of Alliston, Ontario is a 3-year-old Irish setter.  She was on an exercise run with owner Max Lovett last February when  Mr. Lovett suddenly collapsed in the snow.  

Caleigh ran to a neighbor's yard and began barking and jumping back and forth to get the neighbor's attention, then she led him across a field to the spot where Mr. Lovett lay incapacitated from a heart attack.  

When paramedics arrived on the scene, Mr. Lovett was barely conscious, and hypothermia had already set in, but thanks to the quick response, he was rushed to a Toronto hospital coronary care unit, where he was able to recover.

Mr. Lovett says that Calais is now "spoiled rotten".

Stub

Stub of Château-Richer, Quebec is a 7-year-old Labrador Retriever who had been trained for hunting.  Who could have guessed that those skills and instincts would prove life-saving?

Last February, Stub and his owner Ludivine Cauchon were walking in a wooded area when they wandered into a massive rescue effort for two teens thought to be buried in an avalanche.

Earlier that afternoon, Marise Boucher and Christian Lachance had been walking through a deep ravine just after a snowstorm.  The weight of the snow caused the walls of the ravine to collapse, burying the two instantly.

Stub decided to join in the rescue effort and quickly set to work.  Minutes later he found a pair of gloves that ultimately led rescuers to the teens' location.

Sadly, Christian died of his injuries, but Marise survived the ordeal and was present at the Purina ceremony, where she expressed her deepest gratitude to Stub. 

Lilly

Lilly of Orleans, Ontario was barely 8 months old and a new member of the Farrell household when she had her chance to shine.

Lilly's owner Jimmy Farrell was deep asleep after working a double-shift last February when his mother Joan suffered a heart attack in the downstairs laundry room.

Immediately sensing something terribly wrong, Lilly ran upstairs outside Jimmy's bedroom and began barking and banging her head against the door.

Jimmy groggily opened the door to let her in and climbed back into bed.  But the persistent Bull Terrier runt pulled away the blankets and started yanking on Jimmy's arm.

Realizing that Lilly was trying to tell him something, Jimmy at once got up and followed her downstairs where he found his mother unconscious.  He dialed 911, and paramedics came within minutes.

Ms. Farrell spent two days in critical condition, but she recovered fully thanks to a smart dog.

Bandit

No one can dispute that Bandit showed the ultimate act of courage, loyalty and sacrifice when he gave his life to save that of his best friend, Corporal Rick Mosher of the Sydney RCMP.

Bandit and Cpl. Mosher were in pursuit of a fleeing suspect last June in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  When Bandit followed the order to move in and subdue the suspect, he received a serious wound from a knife that the suspect had concealed in his sleeve.  Bandit's spinal cord was severed.

The 4-year-old Belgian Malinois fell back, but when he saw that his partner was about to be attacked, he again pounced on the attacker, this time receiving a fatal stab.

The precious moments that Bandit bought with his life enabled Cpl. Mosher to draw his weapon and apprehend the suspect.

At the ceremony, Cpl. Mosher spoke somberly, holding back an occasional sniffle:

"They do what they do because they love us.  He was always proud and always happy working with me. Bandit was a truly exceptional police service dog, a true, loyal friend and the best partner a police officer could ever have."

Bandit is only the fifth dog to achieve the title Ralston Purina Service Dog of the Year in the history of the award.

UPDATE: Hall-of-Fame Dog Killer Pleads Guilty
(May 1, 2001)

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