MATLAB: Identify first instance of something in a .dat file

dataunique

I have a data file where one tab contains the picture that was presented on the screen another tab has the timestamp. Below is a really short version of what it looks like.
Dog   1ms
Dog   2ms
Dog   3ms
Cat   4ms
Cat   5ms
Cat   6ms
Dog   7ms
Dog   8ms
Dog   9ms
Cat   10ms
Cat   11ms
Cat   12ms
I need to get the rows with the first instance in the grouping (?) of that picture with the timestamp. Below is what I want to have:
Dog 1ms
Cat 4ms
Dog 7ms
Cat 10ms
I'm not sure how to go about doing this; any help would be appreciated!

Best Answer

fid = fopen('test.txt');
data = textscan(fid,'%s %s');
data = [data{1} data{2}];
out = data(1,:);
for i=2:numel(data(:,1))
    if ~strcmpi(data{i-1,1},data{i,1})
        out = [out;data(i,:)];
    end
end
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