[Purple]

Hero dog laps up attention

As you read this article, Georgina Hillier may very well be looking out a window at her modest double-storey Glenwood Park home and be smiling at the sight of her youngest son, two-year-old Max, playing in the backyard with the family's dog.

Her three other sons aged five, seven and eight could be sprawled in front of the TV watching a DVD or playing the latest Xbox game.

It would be a common scene for Mrs Hillier but one which she would no longer take for granted.

Last Thursday morning Mrs Hillier emerged from her home panic stricken, her fear-lit eyes scanning the leafy neighbourhood for a sign of Max, who had unlocked a window and punched out a fly screen and was either heading to or was already at a neighbour's dam.

Blond, cute and naked, he was accompanied by Tank, the family's six-month-old Rottweiller cross, and Muck, a much older Staffie cross who the Hilliers were minding for a neighbour.

Mrs Hillier, 30, had noticed that there seemed to be a special bond between Max and Tank  who, as a puppy, had been dumped in a box behind Pioneer State High School along with his brothers and sisters.

She would often see them laying together in the backyard, the boy's arms wrapped around the dog. Her husband Paul had bought Tank because he thought he would make a good guard dog. That was about the extent of his feelings for the animal.

Mr Hillier, 39, a self-employed diesel fitter, now thinks differently about the dog. So does his wife, for that matter.

When Mrs Hillier arrived at neighbour Narelle Kay's property last Thursday, her 15 minute search yielding no result, Mrs Kay was inside her home showering mud off Max.

Moments earlier she had found the toddler at the edge of the dam, after being alerted to his presence by the dogs' barking.

Max's hair was wet and slimy and his body was covered in mud. Tank's was also drenched, while Muck had placed himself between the boy and the water.

Max had fallen into the dam, the bite marks on the inside of his left wrist, the drag marks on the bank of the dam and Max and Tank's appearance evidence of an amazing rescue.

Surrounded by the media at a press conference at their home on Saturday morning, the Hilliers relived one of the feel-good stories of the year.

As questions were fired and cameras snapped, Max and Tank didn't know what all the fuss was about.

Tank still has a big puppy look about him, making his actions all the more remarkable.

"I'm very surprised a dog so young has so much nous," Mr Hillier said.

"He'll certainly be getting a good feed at Christmas."

Mr Hillier said in hindsight it was obvious Max and Tank shared a strong bond.

"I didn't think much about it at the time but, yes, they are very close."

Mrs Hillier said she couldn't control her emotions when Mrs Kay emerged from the house with Max.

"I was basically a blubbering mess," she said.

"Because I'd been running, my legs gave out when I held him."

This story could have been very different had a woman, who worked at a pet shop, not stumbled across Tank and his siblings at the back of the school.

Tank, who along with Muck has been nominated for a bravery award, was about six weeks at the time.

"It's incredible," Mr Hillier said.

"I'm very grateful it's worked out this way. Tank might get a kennel."

http://www.dailymercury.com.au/local...ondsubsection=

[hoodxgossip]

its good to see a positive story in the news =)

[Purple]

Bravery awards for dogs that saved child


By Roberta Mancuso
March 20, 2008 01:38pm


TWO dogs which saved a toddler from drowning in a Queensland farm dam have been given the nation's highest animal bravery award.
Rottweiler-cross Tank and Staffordshire bull terrier Muck pulled two-year-old Max Hillier out of a neighbour's dam at Andergrove at Mackay, after he wandered away from his family home last December.
The dogs dragged him to safety then stood over the toddler, barking until help came.

The two dogs were today honoured with the RSPCA Purple Cross, joining the ranks of other extraordinary animals in Australian history.
Premier Anna Bligh presented one of the dogs, Tank, with the medal at a ceremony at Queensland's parliament house.

"Since its inception in 1993, only six animals have been awarded the Purple Cross for their outstanding service to humans, or more specifically, for risking their own safety to save a person from injury or death," Ms Bligh said.

As Purple Cross recipients, Muck and Tank join five other dogs and Simpson's donkey Murphy, which carried wounded soldiers at Gallipoli during World War I. The award to Murphy was made in 1997.
The two dogs are the first Queensland animals to receive the honour.
Muck, who belongs to the Hillier's neighbours, did not attend the ceremony.

Max's mum Georgie Hillier said a neighbour eventually found her son after hearing the dogs going "absolutely crazy".

"When she found him the dogs were just going off their heads just trying to alert somebody," Mrs Hillier said.

"Tank was covered in slime, as well as Max, and Muck was actually standing in between Max and the water, preventing Max from going back in again.

"Max had scratch marks on his wrist from where Tank had grabbed him, and he had a gravel rash on his bottom from where he was dragged out of the mud."

Mr Hillier said Tank was a hero around the house.

"He already sleeps on the best of dog beds," he said.

Tank also received a huge bone, a new lead and a packet of dog food for his efforts.

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...rom=public_rss

[Miakoda]

That's great!

But I must admit, this sentence worries me:

Georgina Hillier may very well be looking out a window at her modest double-storey Glenwood Park home and be smiling at the sight of her youngest son, two-year-old Max, playing in the backyard with the family's dog

[buddysmom]

Originally Posted by Miakoda That's great! But I must admit, this sentence worries me:

Yes that one and this one too ...

"Tank might get a kennel."

Probably a dialect barrier but ... ummm ... so he has not even a kennel now? Maybe not as he was "only" to be a guard dog ... I gues Tank showed them!

It is a wonderful story though!