Miami Herald, The (FL) 

      December 19, 2008 
      Section: Metro & State 
      Edition: Final 
      Page: 1B 


      KIND KIDS HONORED 

      BY BREANNE GILPATRICK bgilpatrick@MiamiHerald.com 

      The students say they didn't think they were doing anything special. 

      But a local animal organization called them heroes, and honored
      them Thursday for saving a puppy that was shoved down a sewer
      grate earlier this year in Miami.

      Humane Educators Reaching Out, a humane education organization,
      presented awards to seven Miami-Dade students at ceremonies
      Thursday at Lenora Braynon Smith Elementary School and the
      adjacent Allapattah Middle School.

      The students -- Jakara Viel, 8; Ladena Parks, 9; Rantrell
      Johnson, 12; and Janika Viel, Paulemy Senat, Dominique Lowe, and
      Julian Brown, all 13 -- had been out playing when they saw
      someone trying to stuff Winnie, a German shepherd mix, down a
      sewer grate.

      One of them ran to find the neighborhood's local "dog lady," who
      crawled into the sewer and retrieved Winnie after another
      neighbor pried off a nearby manhole cover.

      One of the dog's rear legs was badly broken, and had to be
      amputated. But those honoring the children said their efforts
      probably saved Winnie's life.

      "When children show bravery and determination to help another
      being, they should be honored," said Susan Hargreaves, founder
      of Humane Educators Reaching Out. "Not that they need
      recognition, because they feel they were just doing what seemed
      like their only option. But it's such a positive act that it
      needs to be recognized."
     

      Photo Byline ANGEL VALENTIN/FOR THE MIAMI HERALD WINNIE AND HER
      HEROES: Animal advocate Susan Hargreaves, center, visits
      Allapattah Middle School to recognize children who helped rescue
      this dog. From left are Paulemy Senat, 13, Rantrel Johnson, 12,
      Dominique Lowe, 13, and Janika Viel, 13.