We’ve been covering lots of feline features this month, but today we found a canine making headlines… for saving a life!
Meet Belle, the heroic Beagle who is credited with dialing 911 when her person collapsed from a diabetic seizure.
Kevin Weaver, Belle’s guardian, said “there is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle.” Belle is a specially trained companion animal who uses her keen sense of smell to detect abnormalities in a person’s blood-sugar levels. She periodically licks Weaver’s nose to take her own “reading” and if his level seems off to her she paws and whines signaling him to test himself with his meter. Kevin says she has never been wrong. She is also trained to summon help in emergency situations, but she is now the first canine recipient to win the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award, which is given when someone uses a cell phone to save a life, help in an emergency, or prevent a crime.
Belle was presented her award on Monday in Washington, DC, she appeared underwhelmed.
