As a dog owner and lover, I am very moved by stories like this one:
An 81-year old couple adopted a tiny abused puppy ten years ago. The puppy grew up to be a 160-pound dog (shepherd/wolf cross) that saved their lives last week when the couple was trapped in a snow storm; the dog dug a tunnel in the snow under fallen trees and pulled the man and woman back to their house through the tunnel. Amazing.
Actually the rescue took place last winter, the dog only now (last thursday)just received the award.
As the French poet Jacques Prévert used to say: “Je préfère les chats aux chiens car on n’a jamais vu de chats policiers”.