A beloved family pet returned the love to an Iowa family by helping to save them from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Brad Harbert of Ankeny, Iowa, is crediting his dog, Roxy with warning the family when the poison gas seeped into their home Monday night.
“I could tell something was up with Roxy,” Harbert told Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO TV.
Since Roxy is typically mellow, Harbert realized something was different when she started jumping on and off his bed.
“When I started to come to, I was hearing an alarm, and it wasn’t the smoke alarm,” Harbert said.
It turned out to be the carbon monoxide detector.
Harbert immediately jumped into action, getting his son, father, and, of course, Roxy out of the home before calling 911.
Workers from the local energy company figured out the leak was coming from the home’s electric and gas fireplace.
Although Christmas is later this week, Harbert seems happy with the gift Roxy gave the family.
[I’m] very, very happy to have a dog and very happy to have her,” Harbert told the station, adding he hopes his story inspires others to buy a working carbon monoxide detector.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 400 people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning in the U.S.