Zatara (Tara for short),[5] is a female tabbycat who rose to international fame in May 2014 when she stopped a dog attack against her owners' four-year-old son in Bakersfield, California, United States. When a neighbor's dog attacked and bit the child, the cat leapt at the dog, causing it to stop biting and run away. The moment was recorded on household surveillance. After the footage was uploaded on YouTube, it received more than 16.8 million views in the first 48 hours.[6]
The cat joined the Triantafilo family in 2008 after it followed parents, Roger and Erica Triantafilo, home.[7] They named her Tara because it was the pet form of 'Zatara'; the name smugglers gave to Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo. The smugglers said it meant driftwood.[5][8]
Dog attack
On May 13, 2014, Jeremy Triantafilo, a four-year-old boy, was riding his bicycle in his family's driveway in Bakersfield, California when Scrappy, a neighbor's eight-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, came from behind and bit his leg.[9] As the dog began dragging Jeremy down his driveway, Tara, who the family states was very attached to Jeremy, tackled the dog and chased him away before returning to Jeremy's side to check on him.
Jeremy needed ten stitches in his left calf following the attack. He quickly recovered and was thankful for Tara's actions calling her "my hero".[10]
On June 3, 2014, the Bakersfield Board of Supervisors proclaimed June 3 Tara the Hero Cat Day.[8]
On August 15, 2014, Tara was awarded the Special Award For Cat Achievement by the Cat Vid Festival.[2]
On September 26, 2014, Tara was awarded the Blue Tiger Award; an award only awarded to military service dogs.[3]
Tara became the first non-human to be named the grand marshal for Bakersfield's Christmas parade in 2014.[13]
On June 19, 2015, Tara was awarded with the Los Angeles SPCA's "Hero Dog" award, for which she also won a year's supply of cat food.[4]
On New Year's Day, 2018, Tara and her family rode in the Rose Parade on the Lucy Pet Foundation Paws for Life float honoring heroic animals.[14]
Aftermath
The eight-month-old Labrador-Chow mix Scrappy was surrendered by its owners to the City of Bakersfield Animal Care Center on May 13. It then began a mandatory ten-day quarantine period to determine whether the animal had rabies.[15]
After the video of Tara went viral, websites and online petitions called for the dog not to be put down. Animal Care Center director Julie Johnson said they were also flooded with phone calls asking for the dog to be saved.[16] However, based on observations in the kennel during the quarantine period, the dog remained classified as "vicious" and "dangerous"; all requests for adoption were denied.[17]
Following the mandatory 10-day quarantine period, the Animal Care Center announced that Scrappy "was humanely euthanized over the weekend" of May 24, 2014.[10][15]
↑"My Cat Saved My Son". YouTube. May 14, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2016."This video has been removed for violating YouTube's policy on violent or graphic content"
"My Cat Saved My Son", YouTube, May 15, 2014 (re-uploaded version of original without graphic image of wound)
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