Greatness in Action The Best Pets of 2014 by Angela Guzman l Pets of 2014 l Inspirational Pets l Inspiring Pets l Pets Who Made a Difference l Pets l Pets Who Help People

Chaney

Chaney has seen a lot and is our number one pick for best pet of 2014. Before he retired from the U.S. Marines in 2013, the Labrador retriever completed multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he sniffed out explosive devices with his trusty nose. Now 8-years-old, Chaney lives happily with one of his former handlers, Cpl. Matt Hatala, in Lansing, Michigan. Together, Hatala and Chaney volunteer throughout the Midwest for the nonprofit organization Retrieving Freedom, which trains service dogs for children with autism and disabled veterans.

“More service members are committing suicide from post-traumatic stress (PTSD) than are being killed in action,” Hatala wrote on the Hero Dog Awards website. “Service dogs can help prevent this from happening.”

Emma

Emma is a special donkey that has brought happiness to the lives of many. The care of a horse or donkey with an artificial limb is tricky – and often not even attempted. The problem is that the prosthetic must fit well and be comfortable so that the horse will distribute its weight properly – or the animal can hurt its good legs and its quality of life becomes an issue, explains Dr. Barrie Grant, one of the pioneers of equine prosthetics, an equine surgeon and former professor at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Every time it’s done in a donkey and pony and they have a good quality of life, it helps expand people’s knowledge of what can be done,” he says.

The Hangar Clinic, which supplied the prosthetic tail for Winter the dolphin from the movie “Dolphin Tale”, also made an artificial leg especially for Emma. Her prosthesis is comparable to those used by Paralympic athletes. The miniature donkey foal showed the right attitude – running around her stall in only her cast at first – from the get-go, which has helped ensure her success. Emma has served as an example for future animal prosthetics with her bravery and resilience.

Bretagne

Bretagne is one of the last known surviving search dogs who worked at Ground Zero in New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In the decade that followed, Bretagne also did search work at some of the worst disaster sites in the United States, including Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Ivan.

Bretagne celebrated her 15th birthday in 2014 and officially retired from formal search and rescue work. However, she’s still very eager to help others. During the school year in her home town of Cypress, Texas, she helps first-graders and special-needs students learn how to read out loud. “She still has this attitude of putting her paw up and saying, ‘Put me in, coach!’” Denise Corliss, 49, Bretagne’s owner. “She absolutely loves it.”