The Purina Animal Hall of Fame, one of Canada’s longest-running pet recognition programs, inducts two more pets for the 2024 season. Since its inception in 1968, this initiative has honoured 194 animals, honouring their bravery and heroism. This year’s inductees have gone above and beyond to save their human companions, showcasing extraordinary courage and quick thinking in critical, life-threatening moments.

This year, the award honours two extraordinary dogs: Bear, a Siberian Husky and Golden Retriever mix from Bonfield, Ont., and Maggie May, a Red Fox Labrador Retriever from Guelph, Ont.

Bear

In the early hours of the morning, Bear suddenly woke his owner, Janice, by jumping onto her bed and howling in her ear. As she stirred, Janice realized her husband of 35 years, Darren, was missing. Following Bear’s swift movements down the stairs, she found Darren unconscious in the family room, with Bear trying to rouse him by jumping on his chest. Janice quickly called for paramedics, and Darren was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a widowmaker heart attack. After waking up in the hospital, it was revealed that Darren had likely been unconscious for three hours, and Bear’s repeated jumping had effectively acted as CPR, keeping him alive. Now, Darren affectionately refers to Bear as the family’s “fur baby hero.”

Maggie May

After her owner Martin experienced heart failure and was put on heart medication, Maggie May provided him with daily companionship. One cold night, Maggie May sensed something was wrong and alerted Martin’s wife, Amy, who was upstairs. Following Maggie May downstairs, Amy discovered Martin out of bed and the back door wide open. When Maggie May dashed outside, Amy followed and found her husband in a snowdrift, in a catatonic state. After calling 911, paramedics explained that Martin’s medication likely caused hallucinations and disorientation, leading him to wander outside. Once Martin had been stabilized, doctors indicated that without Maggie May’s alert, he might not have survived. Now, Martin and Amy affectionately call Maggie May their “superhero pup.”