ERIE, Colo.—The American Humane Association is honoring an Erie dog credited with saving nine people and four other dogs from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Kenai, a 14-year-old Bernese mountain dog mix, started barking and crying at 4 a.m. Sunday and woke up one of three adults sleeping in the basement of a Western Slope home. All three were suffering from symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, but they were able get the others out of the house to seek help, the association said.
The dog’s owners, Todd Smarr and Michelle Sewald, said they were at the home for a getaway weekend with family and friends.
“I’ve heard so many stories about carbon-monoxide poisoning, where people don’t realize it’s happening, and they never awake,” Smarr said. “If I hadn’t heard Kenai in trouble, we would have been in that same situation. I don’t think we would have woke up.”
The association will present the “Golden Paw” award to Kenai and her owners at a ceremony Wednesday afternoon in Arvada. The award honors the dog’s “outstanding actions and her instinct to help those in need.”
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Information from: Daily Camera,
