|
Akita
Every
year, the American Kennel Club
presents its Award
for Canine Excellence
to dogs who
"enrich, inspire or contribute to the lives of individuals and
communities".
Awards
are given out in 5 categories: Exemplary Companion Dog (ECD),
Law Enforcement (LAW), Search and Rescue (SAR),
Service (S), and Therapy (T)
Here
is the story of one such dog:
|
|
San
Francisco, California
"I
had just gone back to sleep after getting my two older sons off to
school when I heard Chillie scratching and barking up a storm outside
the bedroom door," Miriam Rodriguez told the New York Post. So
began the odyssey of Chillie, a female Akita who went from the front
page to death row before concerned fanciers provided a fairytale ending.
On the morning of March 12, 1996, a fast-moving electrical fire swept
through the Bronx, N.Y., apartment where Rodriguez, her invalid husband,
and their two youngest children were sleeping. Chillie's persistent
barking and scratching alerted the family to the danger. They were able
to evacuate, moments before the apartment was rocked by an explosion.
Chillie was hailed as a hero in the city's tabloids, but she had no way
of knowing just how fleeting fame can be.
Rodriguez moved her now-homeless family into a rundown city shelter that
had a strict policy: no dogs, not even a hero dog who had the support of
the press and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The family fought the bureaucracy,
but with their meager resources dwindling and unable to find affordable
housing that would accept a large dog, Chillie was surrendered to a
shelter with a notoriously high kill-rate.
But just when Chillie was about to become another depressing statistic,
volunteers for Akita Rescue of Western New York (ARWNY) took charge.
They rescued Chillie and fostered the Akita while seeking a suitable
home for her. They knew Chillie's chances for adoption were slim; only a
very special person would adopt an 8-year-old depressed and disoriented
dog.
That special someone turned out to be 3,000 miles away, in San
Francisco. Hogan Sung stumbled into Chillie's life accidentally. He was
building a memorial Web site for his late Bulldog, who coincidentally
was also named Chillie, when a Web search led him to the Akita's sad
story on the ARWNY site. Deeply moved, Sung arranged to adopt Chillie
and spent most of his savings treating his new best friend for a
life-threatening case of stress-related bloat.
Today, happy and healthy, Chillie has another rescue Akita for company
in sunny California. |
