Four new pet heroes honored in Canada

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TORONTO, May 4 (UPI) -- Three dogs and a cat were honored as human-lifesaving heroes at the Purina Animal Hall of Fame in Toronto Monday.

The inductees included a young Bijon Frise dog named Sophie from Olds, Alberta, Sophie awoke her owner and alerted her that the woman's daughter had slipped into a diabetic coma in her bedroom.

The second dog inducted was an 8-year-old Chow Chow named Jarod from Genelle, British Columbia. Jarod distracted a charging black bear and allowed its owner and another dog to flee to safety before escaping from the bear.

The only cat inducted was a 21-pound male domestic shorthair named Nemo, which made persistent efforts to awaken a Toronto woman and alert her that her husband had stopped breathing beside her in bed. The man survived.

Purina also honored Ace, a Dutch-Shepherd mix adopted by a police officer in Hamilton, Ontario, who trained him as a search and rescue service dog. In December, Ace located a woman missing for three days during a major snowstorm. She was buried in snow, but recovered.

Since the inception of the Hall of Fame in 1968, 117 dogs, 24 cats and a horse have been named as heroes for their life-saving deeds, Purina said in a release.