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Professional Commentary Stories of Animal Greatness Historical Animal Tributes Rainbow Bridge
Stories of Animal Greatness
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Scarlett The Cat
In 1996, Scarlett, a former stray cat, attracted international media attention because of her heroic efforts to save her kittens from a fire, at serious harm to herself. Scarlett was in an abandoned garage allegedly used as a crack house in Brooklyn, NY with her five kittens when a fire started for undetermined reasons. The New York City Fire Department responded to a call about the fire and quickly extinguished it. When the fire was under control, one of the firefighters on the scene noticed Scarlett carrying her kittens away from the garage one by one. Scarlett herself had been severely burned in the process of pulling her kittens from the fire. Her eyes were blistered shut, her ears radically burned, her paws burned and her coat seriously singed. The hair on her face was almost completely burned away. After saving the kittens, she was seen to touch each of her kittens with her nose to ensure they were all there and alive, as the blisters on her eyes kept her from being able to see them, and then collapsed unconscious. Scarlett and her kittens ultimately went on to live in loving homes. She died in 2008 likely at the age of 13.
Agape Love
Open, assured, serene, and unconditional - a few moments with (dog and cat) Darla & Mokey by Silvana Avanzato Southard .
Buster
In 1931, Buster, a black and tan Spitz saved 35 people, and his special friend, a cat named Fluffy, from a disastrous fire. Buster and his companion people, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Remackel lived in Minneapolis. Purposely ignited by a neighbor in the Remackel's apartment building, the fire spread through the entire building.
Buster and Fluffy were snuggled while sleeping together as usual. They had been close friends since Buster saved Fluffy upon finding her caught in a small trap. Buster lifted Fluffy gently by the nape of the neck, carried the cat with the trap to Mrs. Remackel, who carefully released the cat from the trap, and welcomed Fluffy into their home.
That night Buster awoke to the smell of smoke and relentlessly tried to wake Mrs. Remackel by various means including licking her face, jumping on the bed and trying to pull the covers, barking loudly and then finally biting down on Mrs. Remackel's arm, just enough to finally rouse her. Smelling the smoke, she found her husband who was asleep in another room and woke him. Upon exiting their apartment Buster ran to every door barking frantically and throwing his body against the doors until he heard a commotion in each apartment and knew the residents were awake. In one instance Buster rammed a door so much that the latch weakened and opened so Buster could impress the danger upon a man who was an amputee. Buster stayed with him until the man put on his artificial leg, robe and got his cane and followed Buster out the door. By this time the fire had ravaged the building, however, Mrs. Remackel had forgotten Fluffy in their haste to escape. Realizing this, Buster went back into the burning building and to their apartment, his barks drew Fluffy out of hiding, and he nudged her to safety.
Adapted from Dog Heroes, True Stories about Extraordinary Animals Around the World by Tim Jones, Christine Ummel and Jon Van Zyle, ©1996, published by Epicenter Press
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More to come...
Know of a notable story of animal greatness? Please send it to webmaster@grieftogreatness.com for publication on this page. We welcome your contributions and will credit you for the submission.
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