On November 30, 2001 Ramius Wyatt became a hero. He was formerly Sebastian, a Pet Harbor boy. Before that, he was on death row at a county shelter. Sebastian was adopted by a fabulous family in Seabrook, Maryland and became Ramius. Here is the story of our hero, written by his dad, Butch.

"After my last e-mail to you, I thought I could never be more proud of the pet I obtained from you. After last night, however, I have found that I could not have been more mistaken.

"After coming home from a restaurant at approximately 10:00 - 11:00 P.M., I decided to take Ramius on his nightly walk. Kim decided she would walk along with me and bring our newest member of the family Scottie (a 20-pound Scottish Terrier). Upon our return home, we were attacked by our neighbors' Akita, who had broken loose from the fence in their backyard. At first I thought the dog would come to play since he had never before acted in aggression towards either of us. To our surprise, he leaped on Scottie and began to bite and shake at his neck. We were both terrified but decided to help as best we could and immediately began kicking and stomping at the Akita in an effort to get him to release our Scottie. The Akita then turned on us both.

"At that moment, Ramius sprung into action! Ramius defended us both by attacking the Akita. The Akita immediately began biting Scottie again in an attempt to kill him. As we kicked at him, Ramius would continue to bite at the back of the Akita's neck. Had it not been for this action, Scottie would certainly have died on the scene.

"As Kim left to call for help, I continued to attack the Akita alongside Ramius with further help from a few neighborhood teenagers. Suddenly, the Akita slumped to his belly, and Scottie ran off for cover. I wanted to give chase for Scottie to see if he would survive, but I still had Ramius by the leash. Scottie's leash had given way during the attack. I called for one of the teenagers and pointed to our open front door, requesting that he take Ramius to our home and open the screen door to let him in. I yelled, "Ramius, HOME!" He immediately trotted to the front door and allowed the teen to open the door so he could go inside. Somehow, Scottie made his way home to the back door and was let in.

"After taking Scottie to the animal medical emergency hospital in Annapolis (It was the only place Kim could find open at the time of night.), he was operated on and survived! His bites were a FRACTION OF AN INCH away from his jugular vein and trachea. When the doctor said she had no idea how the Akita did not tear it, Kim explained that Scottie was being held in place by Ramius' attack. The doctor stated had Ramius not gotten involved, Scottie would certainly have died. My thought is had Ramius not been with me, Kim and I may have also been in a world of trouble. I'd hate to think what may have happened had we allowed our 11-year-old son, Trevor, to walk him.

"As soon as I arrived at home, Ramius ran to me, and I gave him a big ol' hug. Kim and I had brought home the leftovers from dinner (king size prime rib on the bone), and I had no problem giving Ramius his due reward. I LOVE THIS DOG!!! Not only did he save our dog Scottie's life but probably ours as well.

"I know that Siberian Huskies have a reputation for not displaying aggression and taking every opportunity they get to escape. However, Ramius put his natural instincts aside to save us. For this, I will forever be in debt to this MAN'S BEST FRIEND!!!!!

"Butch Wyatt"