ohmidog!

The Humane Society of the United States has announced the winners of its second annual Dogs of Valor Awards.

A Great Dane named Baby was chosen by judges as the Valor Dog of the Year.

Baby belonged to 82-year-old Elwood Cardon, who during an exhausting stretch of cancer treatment, slipped out of his daughter’s house with his dog.

On the way to his mountain home near Jemez Springs, New Mexico, Elwood became disoriented and took a wrong turn. As he turned the car around, his tires slipped off the road, and the car plummeted down a hill, becoming wedged upside down between two trees.

Pinned inside, Elwood honked the horn and screamed for help, but no one responded. Baby, a 5-year old Great Dane,snuggled with Elwood, keeping him warm and alert. Ten hours later, Baby crawled out of the car and got the attention of one of a nearby resident, who followed the dog back to the wreckage and called for help. Firefighters pulled Elwood to safety. He was treated for a cracked spine and recovered. Elwood Cardon passed away on January 28, 2009.

A pitbull named D-Boy, whose story we featured in December, won the People’s Hero award.

D-Boy was shot three times when he charged at a home intruder who busted through the front door of a home in Oklahoma City. When Roberta Trawick and her family were ordered to get down on the floor, D-Boy charged the gun-wielding intruder. Shot in the head, he continued to go after the intruder, who shot him two more times before fleeing from the home. D-boy survived the injuries.