Boomer made history after he tried to save his master in a rather unusual way.
A stone monument, that sits next to some railroad tracks in MaKanda Illinois, is dedicated to a three-legged dog named Boomer. It is said the dog was running alongside a train that was carrying his master when a fire broke out. To help save his master, Boomer attempted a really difficult maneuver to put the fire out. He lifted one of his three legs while in mid-run and apparently was hoping his urine would put out the train's fire. It didn't, and poor Boomer died trying.
The plaque on the monument reads "In memory of Boomer the hound dog. Tradition says he dashed his life out against the iron abutment of the railroad bridge 300 feet south of this point on September 2, 1859, while running along on three legs trying to put out the flame in a hotbox on the speeding train of his beloved fireman-master."
Legend was that Boomer could outrun trains, and the railroad did not like that.
