Review: Honorable Companions
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 28, 2013
Countless amazing, original anecdotes are told and written about extraordinary dogs. Tyke had attended every fire that occurred in Camberwell, day or night, for three years. He had no owner, was a small terrier with a predilection for fires.A Newfoundland dog rushed into a sea to save the life of a drowning man. A coachman fell into deep water and a dog dove in repeatedly with energetic fortitude to save the man. In Plymouth, the mayor had ordered that all dogs found running loose should be impounded. A Newfoundland gnawed through the rope, then freed four other dogs.Another rescued Rake after he was half buried by loose gravel. The dog scratched out the gravel with his paws.Whether it is by reason, or not, these creatures are devoted, and are able to perform heroic acts of kindness which greatly resemble acts of humanity by persons. They've rescued children, miners, other animals, and owners from precarious situations too many times for these to be considered co-incidents.In my own family,  a pet Husky rescued my daughter from a camper where we slept. It was winter, snow on the ground. A nylon sleeping bag had slipped too near a flame from a burner. The bag was smoldering, melting. Fumes prevented her from awakening.Mukluk finally, through his barking and tugging, awakened her. She stumbled from the camper, out into the night, with severe burns on her legs and feet from the melted nylon.  Mukluk had saved her life.Dogs are courageous guardians. They have served well in extreme conditions, even in war. They do deserve kindness, affection and appreciation.