The storybooks abound with tales of heroic pets, and the amazing deeds they performed to save their masters from danger, or protect innocent children from harm. The classic TV series Lassie featured the classic “heroic” family dog, seemingly saving disaster-prone Timmy from a new and horrific fate in each episode. But few of us have personally been saved by a pet, or know a close friend who has. You almost have to wonder if such hero pets are just a topic for fiction writers, or if such animals really do save lives on a daily basis around the world.
As it happens, not only do hero pets really exist, but a number of organizations even collect their stories and recognize the outstanding cases for their deeds. Readers Digest magazine has a long standing “Hero Pets” feature, including stories of dogs and cats who have roused their families in time to escape from house fires, saved children from being attacked by animals, and many other admirable feats. Purina maintains their Animal Hall of Fame for Canadian hero pets, cataloging the most admirable stories submitted each year. Their immortalized heros include a dog who alerted his owner to her...