Each year, the Finnish Kennel Club awards the title of Hero Dog and honourable mentions to dogs whose actions have significantly contributed to saving a human life. This year, eight dogs will receive the title of Hero Dog. Honourable mentions will be awarded to 14 dogs.
This year, the Hero Dog titles go to dogs that have rescued a person from a dangerous situation, alerted others to a person in need of help, or detected a person’s medical emergency.
This year, the Hero Dog title goes to the standard poodle Alvar from Vihti, the Australian working kelpie Kajo from Laitila, the Toy poodle Leo from Joensuu, the Lapponian herder Martta from Kittilä, the Russian toy Nelle from Espoo, the Breton Taiga from Rovaniemi, the Shetland sheepdog Tico from Kotka and the Jämthund Vode from Ruokolahti.
Honourable mentions go to the Eurasier Aslan, the Siberian husky Halla, the Labrador retrievers Lemmy and Hubert, the Chihuahua Mimi, the Wire-haired dachshund Mokka, the bichon havanais Paloma, the long-haired dachshund Rane, the Shiba inu Rei, the French bulldog Taco, the Chesapeake Bay retriever Takoda, the Cocker spaniel Wiljo, and the Miniature pinschers Yoda and Nato.
We have been rewarding dogs for heroic deeds since the 1970s. The Hero Dog titles were first awarded in 1997. Sankarikoira® (Hero Dog) is a trademark registered by the Finnish Kennel Club.
We will present the Hero Dog awards together with our partner Agria Eläinvakuutus on Sunday, 13 December, at the Dog Fair (Koiramessut) in Helsinki. The awards will be presented to the heroes by dog handler and dog trainer Tommy Wirén.
Dog rescued a person from a dangerous situation
The owner of the Australian working kelpie Kajo was moving a breeding bull to another pasture together with Kajo along a familiar route. The bull was already threatening Kajo at the start, but Kajo managed to herd the bull across a hundred-metre stretch of field to a wooden gate that the owner was going to open. Just as the owner was opening the gate, the bull approached from behind and the owner fell to the ground, losing consciousness for a moment. Kajo protected the owner by herding the bull to stay in place. Without Kajo’s help, the owner might have been injured or even lost their life.
The owner of the Russian toy Nelle was watching television when Nelle began barking and behaving restlessly. The dog guided the owner out of the house, where a fire had broken out. The fire spread quickly and destroyed the whole house, leaving it uninhabitable. Without Nelle’s actions, the owner could have died.
Dog alerted others to a person in need of help
Toy poodle Leo woke his owner at two o’clock in the morning, asking to be let out. Outside, Leo’s owner noticed a young man lying motionless in the bushes in the yard. Leo pulled his owner towards the man, growling. The owner called an ambulance and tried to keep the man awake together with Leo. The man had no outdoor clothing and was confused. There was snow outside and the temperature was -12 degrees. An ambulance took the man to hospital. Without Leo’s determined actions, the man could have died of hypothermia.
Lapponian herder Martta woke up on the sofa, jumped up to look out of the window and asked to go outside. Outside in the yard, Martta reacted by barking at some sound, and also showed the direction by barking. The owner put the dog on a leash in the yard, and Martta immediately headed towards the neighbour’s property. A sound was heard again from the neighbour’s driveway, and on hearing it, Martta went straight to the neighbour’s septic tank. It turned out that the neighbour had fallen into the septic tank and was already very distressed and exhausted. Martta’s owners managed to tie Martta’s leash around the wrist of the neighbour in distress and thus kept their head above water until the rescue service arrived. Without Martta’s resourceful actions, the cold and exhausted neighbour could have died.
Shetland sheepdog Tico was out for a walk with his owner when cries for help were heard from a nearby beach. Tico and the owner started running to the beach, but Tico stopped at the beginning of the forest path, pointing out the spot where two people had got into trouble in the water. The owner called the emergency number and went to help those in the water together with another person who was present. Without Tico’s resourceful actions, the people in the water could have drowned.
Jämthund Vode was outside in the dog yard at night. Vode’s owner woke up in the early hours of the morning after hearing a thud. However, the owner did not react to it and went on sleeping until Vode began to whine in the yard. The owner woke up and went to check on the situation. It turned out that their spouse had fallen down the stairs from a height of about two metres and was lying on the floor. An ambulance took the spouse to hospital. Without Vode’s help, the spouse would very likely have died from their serious injuries.
Dog detected a medical emergency
The owner of the Standard poodle Alvar woke up in pain but went on sleeping. However, Alvar went between the owner’s legs and nudged them until they woke up and got up to take painkillers. Alvar followed the owner closely the whole time, behaving unusually. A week later it happened again: Alvar woke his owner while asleep, nudged them with his muzzle and forced them to get up. The owner woke their spouse because they suspected that something was wrong. The spouse called the emergency centre. When the ambulance arrived, the medical staff determined that the owner had a heart attack and took them to hospital. Alvar most likely saved his owner’s life with his determined actions.
Breton Taiga woke her owner in the early hours of the morning by jumping on them and moving restlessly. The owner noticed that his wife had fallen from the bed onto the floor and could not get up on her own. The wife’s speech was confused and her left limbs were not working. The owner called the emergency number. Taiga sat firmly next to the wife until the ambulance arrived, which took almost an hour. Without Taiga’s actions, the owner might not have woken up, and his wife could have died.
Photos of the Hero Dogs can be found in the Finnish Kennel Club’s media bank. The contact details of all Hero Dog owners can be provided to the media.
Additional information
viestinta@kennelliitto.fi
Photos of Hero Dogs
You can find photos of all the Hero Dogs in the Finnish Kennel Club’s media bank.
