Edgar the rescue dog who thwarted an attempted abduction at his new home in the Chambersburg area is gaining national attention for his heroics and even nabbed an award Wednesday.

The coonhound’s tale of scaring off a man who police say broke into a Waynesboro home to abduct a child has been featured on Fox News, People magazine and Inside Edition, among other national media outlets. He may appear live on CBS This Morning later this week, said Thom Lambert, who along with his wife and three daughters, adopted Edgar from the local humane society last year.

On Wednesday, Edgar won a Heroics Award from PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization.

"When this dog sensed that his family was in danger, he immediately sounded the alarm and defended them," said PETA Vice President Colleen O'Brien in a news release. "The Lamberts saved Edgar, and he saved them back—and PETA encourages anyone who's inspired by this story to consider providing a dog or cat who's waiting at a local animal shelter with a lifelong home."

A framed award certificate is being mailed to Edgar, along with a bag of toys and vegan dog treats.

Other swag headed Edgar’s way includes a special doggy cake baked by a local woman who makes canine birthday cakes and a shower of toys and treats from a local Boy Scout Troop that wants to “pay their respects,” Thom Lambert said.

The Lamberts also were invited to be the featured guests at a coonhound-rescue event where 150 coonhounds and their new families gathered to celebrate pet adoption.

The positive attention on Edgar and rescuing homeless animals is the silver lining to a scary crime that could have turned tragic, but for Edgar’s aggressive barking in the middle of the night April 28.

The Lambert family was asleep when Edgar started “losing his mind,” and barking in a way the family had only heard once before.

“It was pure rage,” Thom Lambert said.

Thom Lambert then heard footsteps scrambling down the stairs. When Lambert ran downstairs to see what was going on, he saw his window and kitchen door wide open, when both had been securely closed and locked when they went to bed.

As it turned out, police said Thomas Dewald, 20, had broken into their house to abduct one of the girls, ages 3 to 8. But he told police he heard the dog barking and knew the dog meant business so he fled.

Dewald had abducted a 4-year-old girl just three nights prior, police said, but she had inexplicably escaped from the wooden box where he had locked her at a relative’s home where he was living while he went to work.

Police believe Dewald hit the Lambert’s house to get another child. But Edgar was ready for him.

“It’s almost like he knew the danger,” Thom Lambert said of Edgar’s relentless barking during the break-in. “He was always such a laid-back dog, and he seemed like a big dummy in a lot of ways. But it just shows how much we underestimated his importance to the security and well-being of our home.”

Since the incident, Edgar has been acting protectively of the children, Lambert said. He said he will follow the youngest from the front door to the van each day when she goes to school.

Edgar is enjoying his new “hero” status, Thom Lambert said. He was always a wanderer, visiting various neighbors’ houses when he was outside. The Lamberts couldn’t keep him in their yard. But now when Edgar wanders, he’s less likely to get any dirty looks or complaints. Instead, everyone is really sweet to Edgar, Thom Lambert said, even when he tries to eat a dirty diaper in someone’s back yard.

“Yea, he’s got a hall pass right now,” Thom Lambert said. “Prior to his savior status he was sometimes known as a menace to the neighborhood.”

Personally, Thom Lambert hasn’t minded all the attention and news interviews. While it has forced him to repeatedly retell the story of the near-abduction of one of his children, he finds the additional conversations therapeutic.

With the awards, attention and accolades, the only thing that would make it better would be a call from Ellen DeGeneres to be a guest on her show, one of the Lamberts’ favorite programs.

“That would be a dream,” Thom Lambert said, to be able to introduce Edgar to Ellen.

But she hasn’t called yet.