A MEDAL FOR A MONGREL

FRANKFURT -- A dog has won a German government award for helping police to persuade a woman not to commit suicide.

Purzel, a four-year-old shaggy mongrel, received a bone from the interior minister of the state of Thuringia, a ministry spokeswoman said.

Police trying to save the 39-year woman, a patient in a psychiatric clinic who had locked herself in a toilet with a knife, enlisted Purzel's services when they were told the woman was a dog lover.

They chose Purzel from a line-up in a nearby dogs' home because he had the cutest face.

The strategy worked. As soon as the woman spotted Purzel sniffing though a crack in the door she dropped the knife and picked him up.