Meet Canela
Category: Service and Guide / Hearing Dog
Hometown: Oviedo, Florida
Breed: Golden Retriever
Age: 4
Superpower: Medical alert and lab-ready companion.

Meet Canela
Canela is a devoted service dog who supports her handler, a young chemist managing multiple autoimmune and heart conditions. Trained to wear full PPE, Canela accompanies her handler through long lab days, providing life-saving alerts for medical flare-ups, elevated heart rate and fainting risks. Off duty, Canela enjoys sunbathing, playing with her puppy pals and curling up with a happy sigh after a day of hard work. Her dedication makes her both a hero and a beloved companion.
What moment best shows Canela’s heroism?
During the sudden onset of a heart condition that caused fainting, Canela sensed something was wrong before the first episode occurred. She urged her owner to sit down, and when the fainting followed moments later, her instinctive actions proved life‑saving.



