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Heroics of pets range from mundane to miraculous

We’ve had plenty of pets in our lifetime.

Rabbits, fish, a canary and, of course, dogs and cats.

And we have learned not to doubt that they can do amazing things.

We’ve seen a dog protect his housemate cat from the suspected threat of another dog.

We’ve seen a cat play possum to avoid sure agony at the hands — make that teeth — of two wandering canines.

It’s also true that we’ve seen that same cat lure two aggressive, but not really so threatening, dogs into the bushes and then send them off one at a time with their tails between their legs and their noses not feeling all that great.

We’ve seen a dog comfort a young child who was feeling down, and we’re sure that cats have helped to lower our blood pressure when circumstances dictated that it boil sky high.

Funny thing, our daughter Amy’s black lab Casey grew up in the city, but was — maybe still is — greatly afraid of umbrellas and store awnings. Nonetheless, he made it a point to walk between the baby Amy was pushing in a stroller and any oncoming person. Come to think about it, our other daughter Emily’s Rottweiler Harley did the same thing.

So, it’s no great surprise to me to learn of some of the amazing things that pets can do.

I recently read two separate accounts of pet rabbits awakening their owners to rescue them from house fires.

One of them, in Anchorage, Alaska, gave its life to save a mother and daughter, reportedly awakening the mother by jumping on the bed and scratching on her chest.

The other supposedly scratched on the bedroom door and thumped its legs until its owners woke up and escaped. Thumper?

I have to say: It would never happen to me.

I simply can’t see myself having a pet rabbit running loose around the house all night long.

Can you house break a rabbit?

There are some stories even more amazing than that.

A few years ago in Ontario, Canada, a woman slipped on a patch of ice and suffered multiple breaks in her leg.

According to the woman’s story, there was a snow bank between her and a nearby road.

As the tale (not tail) goes, her dog, a husky-German shepherd mix, grabbed her winter coat and pulled her over the snow bank to a place where she could be seen from the road.

Supposedly, the dog laid down on her, keeping her warm, then jumped up and barked when someone approached them.

My favorite stories, however, involve the 9/11 tragedy.

While there are, in fact, some fabricated stories about animal rescues from the World Trade Center, there are at least two authenticated tales.

According to one story, a guide dog led his master down 70 flights of stairs to safety after the planes struck.

His master reportedly heard the collision and smelled smoke, so, resigning himself to a tragic end, he released the dog from his harness and told him to go. The dog reportedly got swept away in a crowd of people, but came back to his master and guided him down all 70 flights of stairs.

The second story involves a man working on the 78th floor.

In this case, the man and his guide dog did not become separated, but apparently briefly said their goodbyes before beginning their climb down 1,463 stairs.

The dog stayed calm and the owner provided the necessary encouragement. Working together, they made it down, even providing some guidance for others, who were almost blinded by the smoke and debris, before eventually finding safety in a subway station just as the tower collapsed.

Ironically, the owner had spent much of the previous night awake, comforting his Labrador retriever during a thunderstorm.

That part of the story, I’ve seen myself.

These are animal heroes, but it doesn’t necessarily take a courageous act for animals to benefit their owners.

Exercise and emotional support are among the benefits.

We’ve heard many times that petting a furry friend is good for your blood pressure and cardiovascular health in general.

Now, I understand that even watching fish in a fish tank can bring that blood pressure down and help you to relax.

Heck, throw in a little steel drum band music and you can imagine you are on a beach in the Caribbean.

Now, that’s relaxing.