US dog gets national hero award
2012-05-08 12:00

 

Debbie Zeisler with her 45kg Shiloh German shepherd named Bear. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles/ AP)

Los Angeles - Three years ago, Bear was a 45kg Shiloh German shepherd nobody wanted at a Texas shelter.

Debbie Zeisler came to his rescue. She has lost count of the times since then that he has come to hers.

On Monday, Bear was honoured with the 30th National Hero Dog award by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles.


As a by-then conscious Zeisler was being loaded into an ambulance, Bear did not hesitate to jump in with her and accompany her to the hospital.

The dog recognises the signs of imminent seizures and will lean on Zeisler's legs so she can sit down before they happen, explained the society's Ana Bustilloz.

Love at first sight

Bear never had any training, but three days after Zeisler took him home he started alerting her to possible problems. "He figured it out on his own," Bustilloz said.

The sometimes daily seizures started after a horse riding accident 18 years ago.


They brought out the dog and it was love at first sight, she said.

Zeisler has fallen a couple of times when she didn't heed Bear's warning. The dog will fetch her medicine or stay with her, whichever she seems to need, she said.

As National Hero Dog, Bear gets free dog food for a year, the trip to California for him and Zeisler, a stay at an oceanfront hotel in Huntington Beach and a plaque.

The ceremony honouring Bear was held at the Nokia Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.