LAKE COUNTY — It was a case of dog-saves-human, and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) couldn”t let it go unnoticed. Buster, an 11-year-old golden retriever, received the Humane Society”s inaugural Dog of Valor medal Wednesday at the Lake County Animal Care and Control Center.
Six dogs throughout the nation were awarded medals and certificates in the HSUS” inaugural award selection. Regional Program Coordinator Paul Bruce of the HSUS Sacramento office, who slipped Buster”s medal around his neck, said more than 80 dogs from all over the nation were nominated for heroic deeds done in 2007.
“Buster was just the sweetest dog, and his family is so nice. It just goes go show that you can get the best dog in the world from an animal shelter,” Bruce said.
Buster, a service dog, was nominated for saving the lives of his family when an electrical outlet spat sparks and flames in the middle of the night while the family slept on Nov. 24, 2007. His owner, Chris Sorenson, said Buster hit the back of his head with both paws and barked to awaken him.
“I was very proud. That dog saved our lives and saved our house. If not for him, with me being on pain pills, I wouldn”t have woken up. There”s no way,” Sorenson said.
Sorenson, a former firefighter, knew the flames could spread quickly. He ran down the hall and woke his wife so she could take the couple”s three children out of the house. The children, Hally, now 2 years old, Luke, 9, and C.J., 18, escaped safely. The sparks stopped when Sorenson flipped the breaker switch, which cut off electricity to the house.
No one was injured and the house was undamaged, except for six inches of burnt wire Sorenson pulled out of the wall after the flames were out.
“We”re thankful the sparks blew outward, because usually a fire will burn inside the wall and you won”t even know it”s there,” Sorenson said.
Sorenson adopted Buster as a five-week-old puppy from Lake County Animal Care and Control and trained him to help with daily tasks. Sorenson”s doctor prescribed Buster to him as a service dog in March 2007 to help reduce blood pressure, anxiety and pressure on Sorenson”s eye.
Sorenson is blind in his right eye, has tunnel vision in his left and takes prescriptions for glaucoma and a heart condition. He said on the night Buster saved him and his family, getting around his home was difficult after back surgery to replace for discs in his spinal column.
Buster is one of three service dogs that HSUS honored with Dog of Valor awards. Three companion dogs were also honored. One dog, a German shepherd named Buffy, was selected from the six finalists as the grand prize winner posthumously, according to Bruce. Buffy took three bullets while defending her Oakland owner from a gunman and was later euthanized because of her injuries.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
