Dog’s Barking Saves Family From House Fire
A Chihuahua barked loudly enough to awaken a couple and their 7-month-old baby so that they could escape a devastating fire, but the pet never made it out. The dog, Jetta, succumbed to heavy smoke after alerting Patrick and Mary Ellis and their son, Jonathan, to flames engulfing their Duarte home Thursday.
“That little dog saved our lives,” Mrs. Ellis said. “If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be here.”
The fire broke out in the kitchen or dining room of the two-bedroom home about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, said county Fire Capt. Steve Johnson. The house was already engulfed by the time firefighters arrived. Jetta’s barking first woke up Mary Ellis, 30, who then woke her husband. “I grabbed the baby and brought him out to her,” said her husband, 35. He turned to go back for the dog, but the smoke was too thick.
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