The cat who heroically threw herself at a dog that was attacking her owner and then succeeded in chasing it off, is being honored this New Year’s day by getting to ride in the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
The parade, which has been a New Year’s tradition for over a century, takes place around Jan. 1 each year and accompanies the college football tournament the Rose Bowl.
In May of 2014, Tara’s owner, 4-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo, was riding his bike outside his home in Bakersfield, California, when a neighbor’s dog snuck up on him.
The dog, a Labrador-Chow mix, bit Jeremy in the leg and then dragged him off his bike and down the driveway.
While the bite was traumatic, it could have been a lot worse for little Jeremy if the family’s cat of six years had not stepped in.
In video shot from three home surveillance cameras, Tara can be seen hurling herself directly at the dog, which is easily twice her size, just seconds after it latches onto Jeremy.
The dog, which looks surprised, lets go of Jeremy and runs off with Tara in pursuit.
Jeremy had to have 10 stitches in his leg, but his family is thankful it wasn’t worse.
While nothing like this has ever happened to them before, the fact that Tara protected her owner wasn’t a surprise to her family.
The 8-month-old dog was euthanized shortly after the attack.
The other “hero” animals that Tara will be riding with are all dogs: a Marine K-9 who went on a second tour to Afghanistan after he was injured and his handler was killed on their first tour; a Belgian Malinois K-9 that has helped apprehend criminals as part of the Oxnard Police Department; and a Border Collie mix that travels the country helping find people trapped during natural disasters.
The parade will take place Jan. 1 and will start at 8 a.m.
