Dog Dies Saving Family from Burning Home

"Jeter" wakes up sleeping family but never makes it out

A rescue dog returned the favor for the Ohio family that saved him from the pound, rousting them from an early morning fire before going back into the empty home where he perished.

Jeter, a five-year-old Great Pyrenees named after the New York Yankee shortstop, frantically awakened Glenda Moss Thursday morning at 6 a.m., according to the Dayton Daily News. The fire had begun in the garage of the family's home in Piqua, and spread quickly as they slept, said firefighters.

Moss was sleeping in a recliner in the living room when Jeter jumped on top of her in a desperate bid to warn her of the blaze..

“I tried to shove him away, then I smelled the smoke,” said Moss.

Moss ran down the hall to wake up her son, David, 19. As smoke and fire engulfed the house, Moss, David, and Jeter all left the house around 6 am.

For some reason, Jeter went back inside the burning house. Moss went back in after the brave dog, but turned back amid billowing smoke. 

“I couldn’t see him. It was so smoky, I couldn’t find him, so I had to come back out,” said Moss.  

Piqua firefighters also say that there were no smoke detectors in the house, making Jeter's action all the more heroic. They are still investigating the cause of the fire, and estimate the damage to be valued at $90,000 which includes the heavily damaged home and two cars.

Moss, sobbing outside the remains of her home, was more concerned with the loss of her brave pooch.

The Mosses got Jeter from the Humane Society after their last dog, also a Great Pyrenees, died from an illness. Jeter had been abused, but found a loving family in the Mosses.

"He had such a tough time, He was starved and beaten, she said of Jeter. "My dog was amazing."

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