While hiking through the woods of Cucamonga, California, fireman Lorenzo Abundiz noticed that his 4-year old rottweiler, Cinder, was behaving strangely. Thinking the dog was sick, he decided to go home. A few minutes after arriving, Abundiz had a heart attack and fell unconscious. Cinder woke him by pushing the phone towards him. He called for an ambulance and was rescued. He later said, " I strongly believe that dogs can sense when your body chemistry is going haywire. Cinder saved my life."

Cinder was a Ken-L-Ration Dog Hero of the Year Runner-up in 1994.