Two Albertans were honoured as heroes yesterday in Toronto. Their reward: Some catnip and a nice juicy bone.
The 2010 Purina Animal Hall of Fame inductees were announced yesterday and two of the four furry hero inductees are from Alberta.
Patty, a three-year-old border collie mix from Westlock, was integral in saving her owner Kai Jensen after he was crushed by a 6,000-pound air seeder.
“Patty started barking in an unusual manner and running around in circles,” said Kai’s daughter Karen Jensen. “Because she did this my brother all of a sudden knew that something was wrong and his heart just sank.”
Patty led Karen’s brother to the air seeder where they found Kai pinned. Kai survived and Patty is now a hero.
“We’re just thankful that the stars aligned and Patty was there to notice that something was wrong and to get someone’s attention and do something about it,” Jensen said.
Dogs aren’t a man’s only best friend however.
Gepetto the cat was just as heroic as Patty when the eight-year-old feline alerted his owner, Phyllis Sjogren of Wetaskiwin, about high carbon monoxide levels in her home.
“At about 6:30 a.m. I woke up to Gepetto just yowling like crazy, he was definitely in distress,” Sjogren said.
“When he was yelling like that I knew I had to get up and see what was wrong with him.”
What Sjogren later found out was that Gepetto was warning her that carbon monoxide levels in her home were at 70 per cent.
“Any little blip in the radar and things wouldn’t have been so happy ever after that’s for sure,” Sjogren said. “Gepetto survived and so did all the others around him too, so he did well.”
The 2010 honourees were selected from hundreds of nominations based on their keen instinct, loyalty and intelligence in saving lives of their owners and family members.
