Hero dog wins award

An eastern Iowa dog is getting national honors for helping save a couple and two children from dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. Joleen Walderback of Ely says the 7-year-old dog, Shelby, saved the lives of her parents and the children of two friends on December 13th in that Cedar Rapids suburb. Walderback says her parents passed out from a carbon monoxide leak and Shelby nudged them awake and got them all out of the house.Shelby is the Skippy Dog Food Company’s “Dog Hero of the Year.” Walderback, who’s a journalism & English teacher, says she had heard about the competition & decided to enter the family pooch.Shelby wins a year’s supply of dog food and Walderback gets 500 dollars. She says the honor of being the nation’s top dog fits her German Shepherd.Authorities say the C-O levels in the home were so high, the family would certainly have perished had they remained inside much longer.