tara headlineImagine what would happen if Timmy was trapped in the well with only his cat nearby. Years ago Saturday Night Live did a series of skits about Cat Lassie. CL’s owner, who found numerous ways to get into peril, sent his trusty feline to find help. Unfortunately Cat Lassie was easily distracted and never managed to rescue his owner.

However last week a gray tabby cat named Tara, redeemed the reputation of the species. Tara’s little human, Jeremy Triantafilo, was riding his bicycle in front of the family’s Bakersfield, CA home when a neighbor’s Chow-Lab-mix launched an unprovoked attack on the four-year-old.

Several of the Triantafilo  family’s security cameras caught the incident.You may have seen the newscasts but this is the original video of Tara the cat saving her boy. The video, which is difficult to watch, was released on youtube.com by Jeremy’s dad, Roger Triantafilo. Switching back and forth between cameras, the video shows the dog running free next door. The eight-month old dog named Scrappy dashes around the car, targets Jeremy, clamps down on the boy’s leg, then shakes the kid violently like a dog toy.

TaraFrom out of nowhere appears Tara, her body stretched out with all of feline weapons brought to bear on the dog. When she body slams Scrappy, the stunned dog immediately breaks off the assault and runs away with his tail tucked between his legs. What a p*ssy. Tara stops for a second and looks back at Jeremy before resuming her humiliation of a vicious dog more than twice her size. Once the dog was out of her yard, Tara’s good sense took over and she seekst safety under the family car then returns to her boy who was limping to safety.

Mom Erica Triantafilo was just out of view the camera watering a tree when the attack occurred.  Within seconds Mom was on the scene. According to Roger, after checking Jeremy’s wounds she left to make sure Scrappy wasn’t going to return for a second attack.

Scrappy was not a free-roaming dog. He escaped his yard while his owners were pulling out of their gated driveway.  Roger says Scrappy bit his owner “as she tried to pin him in his yard. Animal control picked up Scrappy. He is being held for rabies quarantine and then will be euthanized.

Jeremy suffered a couple of significant cuts requiring stitches, but had his feline champion not been there,his injuries would have likely been worse.

Tara hero cat2“Tara is my hero,” Jeremy said the local ABC television affiliate, KERO.

Tara happened into the family’s life six years ago when the gray tabby followed Erica and Roger home from a park. The couple welcomed the kitty into the family despite the fact that Erica is allergic to cats.  Jeremy and his kitty have been best friends since he was born.  Tara even used to sleep in Jeremy’s crib.

One has to wonder if Tara might be Jeremy’s guardian angel. Without getting too religious, Hebrews 13: 2 says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

One has to wonder what Jeremy’s fate would have been had the furry angel been turned away in 2008.

So thank you to tabby Tara who broke the Cat Lassie stereotype. I hereby award you the Catnip Cluster for Valor in the face of an enemy of far superior strength. You go, Girl. And to those of you who ignore the plight of a homeless cat who follows you home, remember you be ignoring an angel unaware.

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