By Cindy Boren
Cindy Boren
Reporter covering sports, with an emphasis on politics and national stories

Tara the hero cat seems to be thinking that a can of tuna would be a nicer reward as owner Roger Triantafilo and a Bakersfield Blaze staffer try to rig up his first pitch. (Nick Ellis / AP / Bakersfield Californian)

Tara, the hero cat who saved her little 4-year-old owner from a marauding neighborhood dog and became an internet sensation, had her moment of glory Tuesday night when she threw out the first pitch at the Bakersfield Blaze minor-league game.

Maybe she’s growing weary of the attention she’s received since video of her heroics has been viewed over 21 million times on YouTube, but she wasn’t exactly into the scene. It could also be that she’s just, you know, a cat, but the Triantafilo family had to come to her rescue this time.

Roger Triantafilo, who shot the YouTube video, “helped” Tara “throw” the ceremonial first pitch, but Jeremy Triantafilo, the boy she saved, did the real honors. He’s recovering after receiving 10 stitches in the attack and Tara has been living it up at home ever since. She might have hoped that would continue, considering her reluctance to morph from Hero Cat to Fireballing Feline.


“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” Tara thinks to herself. (Kevork Djansezian / Reuters)

“We’ve just given her a lot of love, kept her in the house and paid a lot of attention to her,” Roger Triantafilo said.

Tara, the hero cat who saved a 4-year-old boy from a dog attack last week, threw a ceremonial first pitch at minor league baseball game in California. (Reuters)

 

Here’s the original video, in case you missed Tara’s heroics: