They offer an endless supply of entertainment, loyalty and friendship. They show us affection when we need it most, and they expect nothing more than a decent meal and a belly rub or a pat on the head. They’re our pets, but they’re also our family. And they’re certainly not averse to putting their lives on the line for the ones they love:
• Angel, a golden retriever belonging to 11-year-old Austin Forman of Boston Bar, BC, intercepted a cougar as it leapt at Austin
• Lulu, a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, halted traffic and led a curious motorist to his owner’s side; without Lulu’s intervention, his owner would have perished from a heart attack
• Ning Nong, a four-year-old pet elephant in Phuket, Thailand, knew instinctively when a tsunami was about to crest and wash away vacationers in 2004; those who followed the elephant to higher ground were kept from floating off into the Indian Ocean
• Simon the cat may have been smuggled on board the HMS Amethyst, but he became everybody’s pet during his tenure as mouser on the warship; the feline was so loyal that he continued his work even after being almost fatally wounded during an enemy assault.
These and many more heart-warming stories are featured in Pet Heroes