InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino dog lovers still agonizing over the images of badly wounded, malnourished and programmed-to-kill-and-die pit bulls rescued from Korean-led illegal dog fight rings are getting some refreshing affirmation - thanks to a brave, loyal black Lab - of the timeless truth about dogs being real friends.
The video of a black Labrador that refused to leave another dog—a golden retriever - that had been struck dead by a speeding car in a freeway east of Los Angeles last Sunday continues to enthrall dog lovers.
In the video, the black Lab is seen alternately seated, standing, and going around the body of the second dog, seemingly oblivious to the risk it was exposing itself for hours on end, of also being hit by other speeding vehicles.
The young man who shot the drama on video, Erik Reynaga, called the Animal Control unit of the LAPD and stayed with the loyal Lab until help came. The story goes that rescue teams only managed to coax the black Lab out of harm’s way when they took out the dead dog from the scene. One segment shows the black Lab by the roadside, a temporary collar round her neck, visibly shaking.
A veterinarian interviewed on TV later said the dog was truly traumatized from the ordeal of sitting on a freeway for a long time, but had apparently sublimated that fear to loyalty.
In one network, animal expert Cesar Millan of "Dog Whisperer" fame was even interviewed and said no one can hold a candle to the Labrador when it comes to loyalty.
For the past several years, Labradors have consistently topped a global poll among tens of thousands of people who were asked about the most preferred breed; and experts attribute this topnotch record mainly to the Labs’ trademark loyalty, intelligence - both mental and emotional, some note - and their capacity for being trained in a variety of tasks such as for sniffing for bombs and drugs, and for carrying mini-oxygen tanks for the elderly.
In a remarkable twist to the life of "Amazing Grace" - as the police named the brave, loyal Lab on LA’s freeway before awarding temporary custody to videographer and Good Samaritan Erik Reynaga - a couple claiming to be Grace’s real owners stepped up on Tuesday, according to a CBS report. This, several days after Erik had had Amazing Grace treated, given shots, and familiarized her with his neighborhood by taking her on walks.
The couple apparently could not explain why they let their dog roam freely in high-risk areas. Labradors have not been known to attack humans, but letting them roam near the freeway was considered a misdemeanor.
Meanwhile, according to reports, no one has yet stepped forward to claim ownership of the ill-fated golden retriever that Maggie - the real name of Grace, it turns out - had so loyally guarded, even at great risk to her life.
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