Alexis Sararas sits with her Whippet, Moose. (Photo by Luke Hendry/QMI Agency)
Jolene Sararas of Trenton, Ontario chose the Whippet as their first family dog because of their intelligent nature. "They're supposed to be a very intelligent, very family-oriented kind of dog," explains Jolene. She would soon find out how smart little Moose was.
After dropping her older son off at school, Jolene returned home to spend the day with her 3-year-old daughter Alexis. While Moose and Alexis played outdoors in the family's fenced-in backyard, she ran inside to quickly load the dishwasher. Within a few minutes, Moose came running into the house and looked at Jolene in a strange way. Although she thought his behavior was a little odd, she brushed it off. A few seconds later, Moose ran into the house again, gave Jolene a look and ran back outside. The dog began to bark frantically, which got Jolene's attention. As she walked outside into the yard, Jolene saw, to her horror, Alexis with her neck caught in the backyard gate.
The Sararas' gate did not closed properly, so they had placed a bungee cord outside of the gate to keep it closed. As little Alexis had tried to push open the gate, it had slammed closed, pinning her throat between the two metal bars. As Jolene frantically ran towards her daughter, she saw her daughter's limp body. "She was barely conscious and I could hear her trying to breathe," Jolene said. In a panic, Jolene called her husband and then 911. As the emergency vehicles arrived, Alexis had regained consciousness but was still having difficulty breathing. After spending several days in the hospital, she made a full recovery. Besides a few bruises on her neck, there were no permanent injuries.
For his extraordinary act of heroism, Moose has been inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame. Jolene is certain that had Moose not been so diligent in getting her attention, little Alexis would not have survived. Moose is now known as "Moose The Wonder Dog" and family hero.