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Medals given for tails of courage

Jenny Yuen
Sun Media

Michael Hambling owes his life to the countless hours of playing tug of war with his dog, Freddie.

Hambling and his 3-year-old German shepherd were crossing the frozen channel outside his cottage in Coldwater in 2005 when they both crashed through the ice.

"It was shocking," recalled Hambling, 55. "I remember looking at the surface and thinking I can't get there. And his leash was attached to my wrist so I could feel him tugging me up to shore." Yesterday, at the Capital Event Theatre near Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave., Purina honoured Freddie and four other dogs with medals for heroism.

Corey, a 15-year-old miniature schnauzer, heard Jack Turner's cry for help last May after Turner, 81, fell into his pool in North York and suffered a heart attack.

"He pulled me in the wrong direction during our walk and he never does that," Corey's owner, Jay Sobel, said yesterday. "I knew something was up and I saw Jack in the pool. I was able to pull him out, give him his asthma medication and call 911 while Corey waited with him."

To date, 138 "examples of true character" have been inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame: 114 dogs, 23 cats and a horse.

Among other inductees yesterday was Peeka, a 5-year-old Lhasa Apso-poodle from Saskatoon, that barked at the door last February until someone discovered a newborn baby abandoned on the steps in -39C windchill.

"She might be 4 kilograms but she has the energy of a larger dog," owner Ed Anderson said. "She's our hero."

Click Here to Read the Article at torontosun.com

Click Here to See a Video of the 40th annual Animal Hall of Fame

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