When my dog woke me up at six in the morning, I was horrified by what I saw.
I will always remember what I witnessed that morning. My typical wake-up time was six o’clock, but this time was quite different. I was in my bed, sound asleep.
I was hoping for a few more hours of sleep because I had returned from a party the previous evening at around three in the morning. However, my dog began barking loudly and persistently in the morning, as though he had something important to tell me.
He was unusual for waking me up so early. He usually just wakes me up to go for his walk.
I whispered to him, “Give me a little sleep,” thinking he would get it. However, he continued. Rather, he placed his paw on my chest and started to shake me gently while looking directly into my eyes.
This demand was peculiar. I couldn’t understand what was bothering him so much, and a dog as intelligent as he was never acted in this manner.
I gave him a somewhat irritated look. “Now what?” I whispered as I closed my eyes once more in the hopes of dozing off. He got onto the bed and barked almost next to my ear, but he refused to move.
When I eventually opened my eyes, I became aware that something was off. I was afraid when I finally realized why he was acting the way he was.
I was startled awake by an odd, burning odor that permeated the air.
It was indefinable at first, but it soon became evident that it was the smell of something burning, growing stronger and stronger.
I hurried out of bed and ran down the hallway barefoot, my pulse racing.
My room was already filled with dense gray smoke.
Flames roared from the living room, consuming everything in their path.
As he turned to face me, my dog was barking at the fire and seemed to be saying, “Faster!”
I walked out of the apartment with my dog and contacted the fire department, trembling.
I discovered later that I had neglected to switch off the iron.
My dog saved my life by smelling the smoke before I did.
