Sacramento firefighters are praising an 11-year-old boy's quick-thinking and his dog's incredible sense of smell for helping to save their neighbor's home from being destroyed in a massive fire.
As CBS News reported, David Galvez understood there was something wrong when his dog, Chewy, began acting out of character, and it was ultimately that unusual behavior that would lead to David alerting his neighbor to the fire.
Confused, David assumed his pup probably needed to go for a walk. But as soon as the pair got outside, he realized Chewy had been trying to alert him to something much more important than an impatient bladder.
“There’s a lot of white smoke clouding around,” David told CBS. “It seemed suspicious.”
"'Miss Stacey, Miss Stacey — your house is on fire'," Bass recalled hearing David say from outside her home. "And I was like 'Really, no. You’re playing with me.'"
But of course, David's alarm was real, and Bass rushed out of her home while his mom, Christine Soto, dialled 911.
“Your worst nightmare come true," Bass said of the fire. "You never expect it will happen to you."
In the end, she lost her car, her garage, and several sentimental family heirlooms. But far more could have been lost the devastating flames and wasn't, thanks to David's heroic actions.
“Those things can be replaced,” Bass said.
The photo was then uploaded to Facebook where the station praised the pair for saving Bass' home and added, "David — Metro Fire is ready for your 30-1 academy application!"
But the boy knows he's not the only hero in this story.
“If it weren’t for Chewy scratching at the door, our house could have been burnt too,” David said. “Her house could have been damaged a lot.”
h/t: CBS News
