It often takes years, if not decades, to develop a track record worthy of a Hall of Fame distinction.
Leo, however, has bucked that trend by leaps, bounds and years. Dog years to be exact.
Leo is clearly no ordinary person and is, in fact, a 10-month-old Biewer Yorkshire Terrier. And the Hall of Fame he’s been added to? Well, that’s run by none other than the pet food giant Purina.
As it turns out, Leo’s addition to the hallowed hall on May 30 makes him the youngest and smallest inductee. The Purina Hall of Fame was established in 1968 and boasts 175 members.
But back to Leo and his tie to Vancouver. We rewind the clock to New Year’s Eve 2016. The setting is a three-storey West End apartment complex.
Leo’s owner, Brittany Cosgrove, had purchased him 10 days earlier, when he was a just a wee lad of four months. New Year’s Eve was his first night at home with his new owner. At about 2 a.m., the plucky pup jumped onto his new owner’s bed aghast at was transpiring.
Cosgrove’s second-storey unit was on fire, with flames opening up a hole in her bathroom ceiling.
Cosgrove said the building’s smoke alarms were not triggered.
Thankfully, Leo was.
“It was about 2 a.m. and he started barking — not a playful bark, but more of a like an alarming bark,” Cosgrove told the Courier.
Cosgrove sprung to action and called emergency services. With the smoke alarms still not working, she began alerting others in the building to get out of Dodge.
Media reports from that evening suggest the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction above Cosgrove’s suite. Her unit and the one above hers were completely totalled. All of the building’s residents — about 30 in total — got out safely and no injuries were reported.
“Everyone got out safe regardless of the fire alarm not going off,” Cosgrove said. “Unfortunately, the people on the third floor woke up from the firefighters running up the stairs. I feel like if I hadn’t [notified the fire department] in that specific time … I don’t know where the building would be now.”
The incident destroyed all of Cosgrove’s belongings and she has since moved back to her hometown in Ottawa.
“I’m doing great now,” Cosgrove said. “I’m with Leo every single day. He is the best. He is the sweetest little guy and I’m so thankful for him.”
@JohnKurucz
