Minnie was a pitiful stray, a Rottweiler mutt who roamed the streets in Hayward, California.
Her dark fur was matted with filth.
She was so scrawny and malnourished that beneath her fur stuck out a picket fence of ribs.
One Sunday morning in January 1996, Minnie walked up to David Bruce, an unemployed warehouse worker, and two-year-old David Junior.
Father and son were on their way to church. Minnie, even more needy for security and reassurance than her new human acquaintances, stood there beside them as if she were asking to be petted. His son, eager to be with the dog, begged to be put down beside her.
Assuming that she was friendly, Bruce picked up his little boy from the stroller and set him down on the sidewalk. Dad then bent down to tie his shoelace.
Suddenly, the toddler ran out into the street--right in front of a speeding car which was heading right for him! Before David Senior could chase after his son, Minnie tore into the street.
In a flash, she reached the boy and shoved him out of the way, just as the car screeched to a stop only inches from where he had been standing.
Minnie saved the child's life.
She risked her own life to help someone she had never seen before. She was a sterling example of the kindness that animals show toward others.
Of course, everyone felt she deserved a loving home in return. Unfortunately, she did not get it--at least not at first.
Bruce wanted very much to adopt Minnie, but he could not because of a no-pets clause in his rental agreement.
 So, Minnie was taken to the Hayward Animal Shelter, while her grateful friend went about trying to find her last owner.
Shelter volunteers bathed the hero dog, fed her, and tried to make her plump and presentable enough to appeal to someone for adoption.
But she was only a mutt, the kind who does not stand out as a beauty.
Her real beauty lay in her heart, but families looking for a dog at the shelter could not see it when she peered up at them from her cage.
They just passed her by. Because the shelter was being remodeled, it had less room than usual, and Minnie, though a real heroine, was only days away from being euthanize.
Finally, David Bruce, frantic to help her, contacted the media and made a heartfelt plea for an animal lover to adopt her. Within hours, an avalanche of calls came to the shelter.
One of the callers was Annie Urbonas.
She came with her son Nicholas to see Minnie. "She was so loving," Urbonas recalls. "How could a dog who has suffered so much be that way? Because of her good heart.And because of Urbonas' own good heart, the shelter staff chose her and Nicholas as Minnie's new family. S
he's happy now loved and fed and beautifully cared for, as she deserves for rescuing a child. Minnie is proof that animals, just like people, can risk their lives for strangers.
She embodies compassion and courage.
Because of the heroism and self-sacrifice Minnie displayed, she is receiving a plaque from North Shore Animal League proclaiming her a Lewyt Award recipient while her proud and giving owner will receive a $500 check.
Because Minnie was adopted from the Hayward Animal Shelter and the folks there worked so hard to find her a loving home, the shelter will receive the matching award and a certificate.