Creature: Hero to 89-Year-Old Dementia Sufferer Carmen Mitchell

On March 1st of this year an 89-year-old woman with dementia in Piscataway, NJ went missing for several hours after wandering away from her home. While people were out searching for Carmen Mitchaell, it was a 2-year-old pit bull named Creature who found the elderly woman and alerted her guardian Cara Jones. Creature found Carmen Mitchell in the woods, lying on the ground, covered in mud and barefoot.

Sadly, while Creature was the one who found Carmen Mitchell, the media originally credited the rescue to a low-flying helicopter and patrol cars. It was Capt. Kenneth Blair of the Piscataway Police Department that finally gave credit to Creature,

“We had people all over the area. We had fire units from every district; 10 police officers, state police helicopter, but it was her dog who found her. The dog actually led (Jones) to the spot"

Carmen Mitchell was rushed to a local hospital found to be okay and only suffering a mild case of hypothermia. If Creature hadn't have found Carmen in time, the story may have had a very different ending.

Attrino, A. G. (2013, March 1). Missing Piscataway woman, 89, is found after helicopter search. Retrieved from NJ.com: http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/03/missing_piscataway_woman_89_is.html

Attrino, A. G. (2013, March 1). Who needs K9? Hairstylist's pit bull finds missing 89-year-old in Piscataway woods. Retrieved from NJ.com: http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/03/who_needs_k9_hairstylists_pit.html

Diamond the Pit Bull

In response to Antonovich and his office I thought that it would be fitting to post about Los Angeles' very own Diamond the Pit Bull. On October 24th, 2010 Diamond became a hero when she alerted her family to a fire in their apartment. The father, Daryl Steen, was able to find grab his nine-year-old daughter Darahne and send her down to safety, but was unable to find his sixteen-year-old daughter Sierra through the smoke-filled apartment. Springing into action, Diamond found Sierra hiding underneath a mattress and shielded her until firefighters found her and took them both to safety. Because of the selfless and courageous acts of a beautiful dog; Daryl, Sierra and Darahne survived the fire. Sierra and her father spent the next several weeks receiving burn treatment and skin grafts while Diamond spent six weeks at a pet hospital receiving treatment for burns and smoke inhalation. Diamond was hailed as a hero by the SPCA in Los Angeles and was awarded with their 29th annual National Hero Dog Award.
Is this the reward that she is to get from Supervisor Antonovich? Does this hero deserve to be treated like a vicious animal by Antonovich's proposed breed ban and changes in breed specific legislation? 

Brayton, J. (2011, May 5). Meet Diamond, the Hero Pit Bull. Retrieved from NBC Southern California: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Diamond-the-Hero-Dog-121291194.html

CBS. (2011, May 4). Pit Bull Named SPCALA’s Hero Dog Of The Year. Retrieved from CBS Los Angeles: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/05/04/pit-bull-named-spcalas-hero-dog-of-the-year/