Pomeranian is Credited with Saving Family from Burning House
OZARK, Mo. --A family of five is thankful to be alive after a fire tore through their home on Monday. They credit their lives to the family pet, a ten-inch, five-pound Pomeranian.
"Oh, she's very important, very important. Dog hero," said Joseph Onescu, who lived in the house with his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and 4-year-old grandson Alex.
Onescu said everyone was fast asleep on Monday morning when the fire started --everyone, that is, except Pearl, the family's dog. The normally quiet dog started barking around 3 a.m. Onescu said the dog was louder than they had ever heard before and would not stop until everyone was awake.
"My dog was in her little house here by the door, and she started barking, barking, and I didn't know what was wrong. She don't usually bark during the night," Onescu said.
Firefighters believe the blaze started in the attic. Even though the dog was in the basement, it was still able to warn the entire family. Firefighters said the family made it downstairs and out of the house just minutes before the upper levels disintegrated.
"I can't believe it, but I believe it now. She saved us," Onescu said.
Onescu rescued the little dog from an abandoned apartment 12 years ago.
"We saved her, and she saved us all now," Onescue said.