A 10-year-old pit bull named Baby earned herself hero status early Tuesday morning when she helped her two owners, as well as five other dogs, escape from their burning Wellston, Okla. home.
When the fire broke out, Rhonda Westenberger and her sister Evelyn were sound asleep. Baby pounced on them, barking repeatedly until they woke up -- when they had only seconds to escape, ABC reported.
"I went back and there were flames shooting down the hallway," Rhonda told ABC. "If Baby hadn't woken Evelyn up, I don't think either one of us would have come out of this."
But after the women ran out, five other dogs were stuck inside. Baby knew what to do -- get them out of there. There was one dog, though, that didn't want to budge.
"And then there was one hiding under the bed, wouldn't come out," family member Charles Land told ABC. "Baby actually went under there, grabbed it by the neck and dragged him outside."
Everything in the family's home of 17 years was lost. But they still have each other and take solace in the fact that Baby -- although advancing in age -- was still able to save their lives.
"She's always come across to us as one of the family and this just proves it," Land added to ABC.
Rhonda agrees. "I'm so proud of her," she added in an interview with the station. "She is my hero. She's the hero for all of us."
Watch a video report about Baby the hero dog on WFMZ here.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
