Storytime Winner!

We sent the call out to tell us why your dog deserves a Paco Collar and you did not disappoint! We had so many good entries (some of whom will be receiving special props) but our winner was Baron! His owner, Jim Devlin, added this pathetic image to illustrate the severity of the situation:

And here is Baron’s Story:

It was bitter cold and although the weather was fighting us, we had to continue on. As my partner and I ran through the thick brush, we had only one thing on our mind. It is imperative that we complete our mission. After all, lives were depending on us. Dressed in camouflage and Baron with his pack on, we blended into our environment as we closed in on our objective. I crawled to the edge of the tree line as Baron crawled next to me. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes. He may be a German shepherd, but he thinks like a human. Across the moonlit field was a house with crude cages in the yard which held the targets. This house was known to us as the death house where shepherd pups went in and never came out and were part of a sick and twisted science experiment. This was not our concern and what we wanted was inside the cages waiting to be freed. The moon tonight was a problem and I didn’t want our positions to be compromised. If we weren’t able to complete our mission, there was a good chance the puppies would be moved before we could get back here. As Baron and I low crawled between sections of brush we, kept watch on the main building where lights and a TV were on in different rooms. As we got closer, we noticed that the cages were un-sheltered from the outside elements. The four pups were in one cage, lying on the ground, shivering, rolled up in little balls. While I snipped the lock on the cage with my bolt cutters, Baron laid on the ground quietly whining as his concern for the pups was abundantly clear. One by one, I removed the pups and put them into Baron’s specially made backpack. Two pups on each side of the pack. Perfect, just as we’d planned! Finishing up, I heard something from the other end of the run of cages. I secured the pups, took a glance at the house to make sure we haven’t been discovered, and then went to investigate. Baron followed closely behind, carefully balancing his new cargo. Reaching the other end of the cages, we noticed a small one that housed four adult shepherds. This was a surprise to me. I grabbed the bolt cutters again and snipped the lock and right as I prepared to open the cage, I was startled by the building lights coming on around me. For a split second, I was blinded by the floodlights. I could see multiple people emerging from the house.

There was no need to tell Baron what to do because we both took off like the wind for the wood line. It’s a long ways to the woods and I hear shots being fired. These monsters don’t want to lose their “guinea pigs”. I tried to run a path zigzagging back and forth so I didn’t give them a clean shot but I could hear the bullets whizzing and one blasted a huge branch off a tree right next to me. There was little moonlight in the forest which made it difficult to see while running at full speed. Branches slapped me in the face which didn’t help. We were only about a quarter mile from our pick-up point, when out of nowhere it felt like the ground fell out from under me. I slammed my face into the ground. The cold made the sting even worse. Both my face and leg were burning. I must have broken my leg, it hurt so badly! Baron ran up to me and licked my face. He knew what was behind us and they weren’t going to be forgiving when they arrived. I grabbed onto his collar as he attempted to drag me out of trouble. Snap! The collar broke and I wondered why I didn’t buy that Paco Collar when I had the chance. I laid there with the remnants of Baron’s broken collar in my hands. Three shots fired out, blowing limbs off around me as I covered my head and put an arm over Baron. The footsteps were getting closer and I could hear them yelling “I think they’re over here!” I looked at Baron and yelled “go!” He ran a couple of steps then stopped and looked back. “Run now, save the pups!” Baron understood the importance of the mission and took off into the darkness. Very soon I found out who was chasing me. There were five of them, all armed and unhappy. They demanded the return of the puppies and though I told them they’d run away, they weren’t easily convinced. The larger of the men, raised his gun and pointed it at me. Before he pulled the trigger, I thought I heard footsteps behind them in the leaves. It was the four adult German shepherds who then managed to jump on the backs of my attackers. They must have been able to get out of that cage after I cut the lock! I rolled over and started crawling away from the fight to find Baron, when one of the guys grabbed me by my pack and started pulling me away. From the darkness, I could hear something coming. It was moving towards us fast and all I saw was white fangs. It was Baron, who lunged at the man holding my pack. The guy’s arms were down and had no defense from the 90lb. freight train that nailed him in the chest. I looked up and saw headlights through the trees; it was our ride out of here! The team of shepherds had completely incapacitated the group of men, and they were now looking at me. I waved my arm and whistled “let’s go boys, we’re out of here!” We all made our way out to the main road where we were saved and my new friends were able to start their new life.

The action! The drama! The gratuitous product placement! Great job Baron (and Jim)!