A couple from Minnesota escaped a devastating blaze that destroyed their entire home, all thanks to their family dog—pit bull Milo.
On Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, Carrie and Dave Hansen were sound asleep when a fire broke out at their home situated in Industrial Township, around 6 miles west of Twig, in the middle of the night.
Fortunately, their family dog Milo was wide awake.
Milo scurried into the Hansens’ room and went up to Carrie, intently staring right at her.
Carrie didn’t ascertain Milo was alerting her to a fire and attempted to push Milo away, telling him to go back to bed.
However, Milo just wouldn’t listen and continued to behave strangely.
Carrie only realized about the imminent danger when she saw smoke in the room.
She quickly got out of bed and followed Milo to the garage, where the fire started.
In the terrifying moment, Carrie woke up her husband, Dave, who was sleeping on the couch.
Dave was determined to extinguish the fire, but it was too late—the blaze was fast spreading to the torch tanks and a welder in the garage.
“The torch tanks were laying there, and the welder was sitting there. Once the fire got around them, I was just like ‘time to go,’” Dave told KBJR 6.
In an attempt to stop the flames from reaching the torch tanks and welder, Dave just “stood there and sprayed it.”
Luckily, Dave and Carrie managed to flee before the fire spread through the roof and engulfed the house, burning it to the ground.
Everything inside the Hansens’ 3-year-old 5,000-square-foot house was destroyed, including a brand-new car and the garage where Dave, who’s a woodworker and a mechanic, worked.
Dave does a few odd jobs for anyone who needs help in a project. And not too long ago, he had just equipped his workshop with every tool that was needed to handle all fixing needs, as per Duluth News Tribune.
“I put every dime I had into that shop because I used to have a trucking company and I quit doing that,” Dave said.
“Basically everything I own was in there,” Dave added.
“I never thought it was going to burn down,” the owner recalled. “I wasn’t even worried about, you know, getting anything out, or saving photos, or any of that stuff.”
Even worse, the Hansens’ house wasn’t insured. They sustained an estimated US$750,000 in damages.
To help Dave and Carrie through this tough time, their daughter Adrieone set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds.
Though Dave lost his home and everything he had in the destructive blaze, he is thankful to be alive.
Moreover, he still has what’s most important and irreplaceable—his wife and kids.
“Everything else can be put back together,” said Dave.
And he has Milo, who has a few scratches, but he'll be okay.
The Hansens were especially grateful to Milo. If not for the dog’s alertness, they could’ve lost their lives.
“We were pretty sound asleep,” Dave told Duluth News Tribune. “The fire alarm could have been going off, but if the dog didn’t wake the wife up and the wife didn’t wake me up, I still would have been lying there.”
“I’ve always really liked Milo, he’s a really good dog. Without him, my parents probably wouldn’t be here,” said Adrieona.
Carrie couldn’t agree more.
“You always hear how your dog will save your life,” Carrie said. “And this dog … I just can’t believe it.”
Milo certainly played the heroic dog that scary night. Let’s hope he gets treated to a hearty steak for saving his masters from such a perilous blaze!
