10 Heroic Pets:
Winnie

Name: Winnie
Breed: Domestic short hair
Heroic Deed: Saved family from carbon monoxide poisoning
The Story: When the Keesling family of Indiana rescued an abandoned kitten from under a barn, little did they know it would one day save their lives. One night, while the family was asleep, Winnie clawed at Cathy Keesling's hair until she woke up. "Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry meow," she told the Associated Press. Down in the basement, a gas-driven flood pump had malfunctioned, seeping carbon monoxide throughout the house. The family was just minutes away from death, said police officers who responded to her 911 call. The ASPCA named Winnie 2007's Cat of the Year and, like Toby [see slide 1], was honored with a lunch at Manhattan's Rainbow Room.