This photo provided by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, shows Debbie Zeisler with her 100-pound Shiloh German shepherd named Bear, on Monday, May 7, 2012, in Los Angeles. Three years ago, Bear, was a dog nobody wanted at a Texas shelter until Zeisler came to his rescue. On Monday, Bear was honored with the 30th National Hero Dog award by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles.[H/T to the Shelter Pet Project.]
Last May, Zeisler had a seizure, fell down some steps, hit her head and lost consciousness in her front yard. Bear scratched on every front door in their Millsap neighborhood but nobody answered. A Parker County animal control officer saw the frantic dog and went to help. Bear led the officer to Zeisler. 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 recognizes 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. 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.
Zeisler said she initially went to the Weatherford Animal Shelter to get a German shepherd for her mother. When she asked about shepherds, she was told they only had one, but he was in the back because nobody wanted him. They brought out the dog and it was love at first sight, she said. [AP, with more here.]
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