Ellen Britt for CNT #wooftips
The beautiful and athletic Belgian Malinois is one of a handful of dog breeds that are best for protection. These dogs are favorites for working on K-9 units for the police and the military and are known for their protective natures.
A Franklin, Tennessee family is extremely grateful for this protective nature, as they owe their lives to a three year old Belgian Malinois named Roux who alerted the sleeping family to a fire burning just outside of the home’s garage door.
But Roux doesn’t belong to the family whose house caught on fire but belongs to a neighbor, Jeff LeCates, who says that his dog began frantically barking and running in circles, highly unusual behavior for him. He opened the door to investigate why Roux was upset and the dog bolted outside. That’s when he noticed flames licking at his neighbor’s house.
The Great Escape
He immediately banged on their door and the mom and two children, along with their pets, were able to escape unharmed. Jeff grabbed a hose and put water on the flames, as the fire department arrived to take over. Nearly $50,000 worth of damage was done to the house, so if it were not for the alertness of Roux and his warning, the house would have burned to the ground and the family might have perished.
The Best Kind Of Karma
Perhaps Roux knew somehow that the woman who owns the house that caught on fire was responsible for his own rescue. The woman is a professional dog groomer and knew Jeff was missing his German Shepherd, who had died. Some fifteen months ago, she told him about Roux, who needed a home and he adopted the dog.
So the rescued becomes the rescuer!
By Ellen Britt
Dr. Ellen Britt has loved dogs since she was a child. She is particularly fond of the Northern breeds, especially Alaskan Malamutes. Ellen worked as a PA in Emergency and Occupational Medicine for two decades and holds a doctorate (Ed.D.) in biology.
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