Hero horse recommended for bravery medal in Australia
Hero horse recommended for bravery medal in Australia
27 May 2009
published by news.xinhuanet.com
Australia —
A retired police horse which saved four sheep and two goats from being burned to death during a fierce bushfire in Australia in February has been recommended for a bravery medal on Wednesday.
The big Clydesdale horse named Paddy rounded up the smaller animals and had them stand under his massive frame as the bushfire raged through their paddock on February 7 in Victoria.
The terrible bushfires killed 173 people and countless livestock, making it the deadliest bushfire in Australian history, but the heartwarming story of Paddy the hero horse is one bit of good news.
Paddy served in police parades as a drum horse and was retired to the farm of former police officer Mike Salmon at Happy Valley north of Melbourne.
Salmon said he released the sheep and goats from their pens into Paddy’s paddock, hoping they would evade the fire.
He watched in amazement as the big horse rounded up the animals and sheltered them under his great frame.
Salmon hosed the horse down every half hour or so but Paddy never moved as embers fell from the sky.
“If the sheep moved Paddy rounded them up and brought them back to the corner where they waited under him,” Salmon told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio network.
The horse has been recommended for a bravery award with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
