Years ago, Pippa the 9-year-old rescue dog found a loving home with Jan Bickhart and her family. She currently lives with them in Virginia and she is very loyal to all her family members. The sweet senior dog always wants what’s best for her loved ones, so when she sensed danger, she knew she had to do something. Her family had rescued her when she needed a home, so now it was her turn to rescue them.
At 2 a.m. one Sunday night, Bickhart’s house caught on fire. The fire started outside, so the smoke alarms didn’t go off right away. However, Pippa was able to notice the fire even before the smoke alarms did.
Pippa to the Rescue!
Pippa began barking as soon as she noticed that something was wrong. She smelled the smoke outside and decided to alert her family right away.
Bickhart could tell that this was no ordinary bark. She said that Pippa’s bark sounded vicious, so she suspected that there was an intruder in the house. When she got up to investigate, she realized that the house was on fire.
The family ran out of the house as fast as possible, but Bickhart soon realized that Pippa and her other dog, Benny, were not behind her. She refused to leave her dogs alone in the burning house, so she ran back inside despite the firefighters’ wishes.
Luckily, the firefighters were able to get Bickhart, Pippa, and Benny safely out of the house. Thanks to Pippa’s bravery and amazing detection skills, her whole family was safe from the fire.
Be Cautious with Christmas Lights
The cause of this house fire was something that’s fairly common, especially around the holidays. The fire started because of the cords attached to the family’s Christmas lights. They had used an indoor extension cord on the outside of their house.
“If there’s one thing to tell your viewers, it’s to check your cords,” said Bickhart during an interview. “And everybody needs to get a dog. A rescue dog.”
This wasn’t Pippa’s first time near a fire. About a year ago, their next door neighbor’s house burned to the ground also because of some faulty Christmas lights. The holiday season has been an unlucky time for Bickhart’s family recently, but if it weren’t for Pippa, things would’ve been much worse this time around.
Never take a rescue dog for granted. You saved their life when you adopted them, so of course, they will always love and protect you. Pippa’s family realized this more than ever during this scary event.
H/T: nbcwashington.com
Featured Image: Screenshots, nbcwashington.com
Toledo, United States.
