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TORONTO, ON (Canada)
— One dog fought off a bear, one dog dragged an injured
woman to safety, another dog rescued a man buried under two meters of
snow, and another dog led an entire family out of a burning house.
Either we're at a Rin Tin Tin film festival, or it must be
time for the 2002
Purina Animal Hall of Fame Awards. Since 1968, the Ralston
Purina company has been immortalizing the heroic actions of Canadian
animals each year. In all, there have been 93 dogs, 18 cats and
one horse. ("Snags",
editor of CatsInTheNews.com,
insists that this disproportionate dominance of heroic dogs does not
indicate the superiority of dogs, so much as it indicates the unerring
capacity of dog people to get into trouble.) In
case of fire, follow dog HUBBARDS,
Nova Scotia
— "Indiana Jones", a
one-year-old Weimaraner pup, saved the lives of his entire family—Larry
and Chris Stevens and their children Justin and Devan—when a
devastating fire consumed their home last July.
Not only did the
vigilant dog wake them in time to save a child from an exploding
window, Indy also led the family to the safest exit, a side door away
from the front and back of the house which, they would later learn,
had been surrounded by downed power lines.  At
Monday's ceremony at
Exhibition Place, Toronto, TV / radio celebrity Carla Collins
presented a medal to the wiggly Weimaraner who seemed intent on
demonstrating his back-up plan for dealing with the fire: douse the
blaze with slobber. (Photo: Mark O'Neill / Canadian Press)
Well done,
Indiana Jones. Maybe they'll make a movie about you: Raiders of the
Lost Bark. Look what the dog dragged in MISSISSAUGA,
Ontario
— "Star", a four-year-old Husky /
German Shepherd mix (whose full name is "Starry Boo", but
you didn't hear it from us)
is credited with saving the life of Lynda Kishner who otherwise would
have died from hypothermia and shock two winters ago. On Dec. 18, 2000, just six months after she
had adopted the mutt from the local Animal Control Shelter, Ms.
Kishner, 54, slipped on a patch of ice and broke her leg in six
places.
The woman recounted the experience yesterday after the ceremony:
"I was on a snow bank away from the road and I guess I must have
passed out. When I came to,
I was in agony and so cold. Star was there and I just said, 'Help me.'
"Was he aware of what I was saying? I don't know. I honestly
don't know. But I think sometimes we underestimate dogs.
"He chomped on my winter jacket and he pulled me away from the
snow bank to the street. He lay on me until someone was going by, and
then he jumped up and barked."
A passing motorist spotted them and called for an ambulance.
"My doctor said that but for my dog I might
easily have died of hypothermia and trauma," said Ms. Kishner.
She recalls that Star's previous family had turned him in to Animal
Control because he was "too rambunctious."
 "Rambunctious?"
Ms. Kishner laughs. "Well, yeah, but we don't mind. We
especially don't mind now." (Photo: Ron Bull
/ Toronto Star)
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How to survive a bear attack
LAC MEECH, Québec
— "Queenie", a nine-year-old Labrador /
Shepherd mix, was running with Bonnie Pankiw in a secluded part of
Gatineau Park when an aggressive, full-grown black bear crossed their
path.
 Scoop
Nature Tip
In case you don't know the difference between a
black bear and a grizzly bear...
Climb
a tree. If the bear climbs it and eats you, it's a black bear.
If
the bear knocks the tree down and eats you, it's a grizzly.
More Scoop Nature Tips, click
here!
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The bear charged at Bonnie, but Queenie growled and attacked the bear's
hind legs, scaring it off.
 The
bear came back two more times, trying to get around the dog to attack
Bonnie. Each time, Queenie sprang into action, defending Bonnie from
the large predator before eventually forcing it to retreat into the woods
for good.
"I never expected her to react the way that she did at all,"
said Ms. Pankiw. "She was just so protective of me and I thought the
bear was going to kill her."
For more important Scoop Nature Tips, read the Nov. 5 article:
"Why you should never stick
your head in a bear's mouth unless your dog is nearby."
Don't eat yellow snow; don't go skiing without a
Yellow Lab. FERNIE,
British Columbia
— "Keno", a five-year-old Yellow
Labrador Retriever, took the Service Dog of the Year Award, an honor
usually reserved for police dogs who have died in the line of duty.
This heroic pooch is neither a police dog, nor is he dead, we're happy to
report. But ski lift operator Ryan Radchenko would've been, had it not
been for Keno. The certified Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog was on
the job when an avalanche covered an area of the Fernie Alpine Resort on
the day before the resort opened in December 2000. Mr. Radchenko was
caught in the middle of it, swept 200 meters down the mountainside and
buried two meters deep. Keno and his handler Robin Siggers were on the
scene in minutes, and the dog went to work, quickly picking up Ryan's
scent and digging deep into the snow. According to the Canadian
Avalanche Rescue Dog Association, avalanche victims buried for 30 minutes
are given only a 50-percent chance of surviving. Keno found Ryan in
just under 25 minutes, unconscious but alive. After being taken to a
hospital in Fernie where he was given oxygen, Ryan recovered completely
and was able to walk out of the hospital on his own two feet. It was
"the first and only live find by an avalanche rescue dog trained in
Canada," said Mr. Siggers on Monday.  Heroic
dog Keno poses with Ryan Radchenko, the man he dug from an avalanche.
Scoop senior editor "Wags" is constantly digging in the yard,
but he hasn't uncovered any avalanche victims yet, only the azaleas.
(Photo: Louie Palu / Canadian Press)
To read about all 112 Purina
Animal Heroes, click
here.
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