Each year since 1968 the Purina Animal Hall of Fame has honoured Canadian “true pet heroes,”—109 dogs, 23 cats and one horse. Well, I am nominating my friend Leslie-Ann’s faithful dog Brody in advance of the 2008 awards. Brody’s life-saving feat preserved not just Leslie-Ann’s life and those of her grandmother and grandfather, but also the lives of Connie, the grey tabby, Alistair, the white short hair domestic, and Fionn the ferret.

One recent evening, Leslie-Ann had gone off to sleep after Brody did his end-of-the-day flop and settle at the end of her bed. Usually, Brody doesn’t stir until morning. It was 1 a.m., and he flew off the bed, barking frantically. Leslie-Ann assumed in her sleepy state that Brody was simply yelling at a neighbourhood friend through the house’s wall, and tried to get him to lay off. But Brody was not stopping. He kept it up until she got up, and went into the living room, where she smelled smoke and saw sparks jumping out of a wall socket, and the power bar that had been in the socket across the room, where it had landed after firing out of the wall. Leslie-Ann was rooted to the spot with fear (seriously, she freezes, she’s working on it but that wasn’t the time for therapy), but Brody kept up the volume until Granddad appeared, and everyone made it to safety.

Brody is a 19-month-old yellow labrador retreiver. He’s been Leslie-Ann’s for 14 months, and he’s a handful. When she’s home, she has to be within his view or he’ll freak. If she closes a door behind her, it’s a whimper, then he starts chewing the door. She has diagnosed Brody with severe separation anxiety, ADHD, unipolar manic states and severe generalized anxiety disorder. But he’s her baby. When I conducted our formal (!!) interview, I asked what his favourite activities and treats were: “Eating couches! He likes his walks, he like to cuddle. He loves McDonald’s cookies [they go every Saturday morning!] and ice-cream.

And what does she feel about her life-saving best friend? “Well to quote Winnie the poo if Brody lived for 100 years I would want to live for 100 years less one day so I would never have to live without him.”

AAAHHHHH!!!!!

If you have a pet story to share, send it in! Have a great weekend!