A labrador/retriever mix appropriately named Smokey beat more than 100 firehouse canines across the country to win the “Chicago Fire” top dog competition.
Her prize: A cameo role in the NBC drama, set and filmed in Chicago.
The 4-year-old pooch is based out of Station 2 in Downstate Jacksonville. According to NBC, Smokey was found inside a home that was engulfed in flames when she was 6 months old. Her lifeless body was brought out and, with the aid of firefighters and a veterinarian, was kept on oxygen for three days, hand fed and cared for. Now she’s a training tool for school kids and the community; firefighters have taught her to perform safety techniques like “stop, drop and roll.”
The three finalists appeared on NBC’s morning show “Today” last week. The winner was decided through online voting at www.today.com/topdog, which ended Monday. Smokey smoked the competition with 51 percent of the vote. Dempsey, a boxer/mastiff mix from Indianapolis, came in second. Wilshire, a dalmatian from Los Angeles, finished third.
