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CanaDogs.com |
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The Winners |
Akita |
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Samuri
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Winnipeg,
Manitoba Samuri
was the runt of a litter of eight pups. That made him the obvious choice
for Jo-Ann and Don Drozdowski, who wanted an addition to their household.
They realized later that their new pet was born blind, which only endeared
him even more to the Winnipeg couple. But Samuri - meaning guard or warrior in Japanese - compensated for his lack of sight with his devotion, his heightened sense of hearing and attentiveness. Last November, about six years after he came to the Drozdowski family, Samuri's special skills became a fateful blessing for a neighbour across the street. It was getting dark and a dusting of snow had fallen. Inside the house, Jo-Ann, Don, and their son, Johnathan, were watching television. Samuri, who was outside in the yard, began barking insistently. It was a demanding bark, something that seemed out of character for the dog. Something had to be wrong. Don stepped outside to investigate. He couldn't see anything at first but Samuri had heard something and seemed to be directing him towards the street. There, against the curb, Don saw a dark shape. Still unable to make out what the shape was, Don walked towards the far curb. He saw the shape was a person who had fallen to the ground. Then he recognized Kathy Arnold, the young college student who lived with her mother, Eileen, across the street. Kathy was slipping in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherently. But her cries were too faint to be heard, except by a blind Akita across the street. Don cradled Kathy's head, Jo-Ann brought a blanket, and Johnathan called 911. Eileen came out and so did her son, Ron, who lived next door. Within minutes, paramedics had stabilized Kathy before taking her to hospital. Kathy, 25, has lupus and suffered a stroke that night as she returned home from class. She underwent therapy in hospital and returned home to continue her rehabilitation, including speech therapy. The stroke also left her with paralysis on her right side. The Arnolds credit Samuri as the guard that helped save Kathy. "I'm so thankful that Samuri was watching out, or should I say listening out, for my daughter," says Eileen. "He was her guardian angel that night." |
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Nago |
St. Mary's, Ontario Nago, a nine-year-old Akita, pushed six-year old Alaina Fawcett out of the way of an oncoming truck while she waited for the school bus at an intersection near her home. | |
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