A blind man and his uncle escaped a burning home unscathed thanks to the heroics of their faithful dog, who woke them in the middle of the night.
Lawrence Perry, who is blind, says he woke up to his German shepherd, Coda, and a frightening sound early Monday, in the ground-level unit of a home he rents with his uncle in Vancouver.
"I just heard a bunch of crackling and popping sounds," Perry told CTV Vancouver. "I was scared. I didn't know what was going on."
Perry and his uncle, Leo Perry, left the home with Coda just as the smoke alarms started going off.
"He got me up just in time when the smoke was starting to fill the basement," Leo Perry said.
"The dog woke them up," Battalion Chief Jim Booth, of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, told CTV Vancouver. "It heard the noise and like all good pets do, they make sure their owners get out."
Neil Sideen, who lives across the street, called 911 when he saw the fire at 2:30 a.m.
"The light from the flames woke me up," Sideen said. He added that he thought the home was empty because it had been undergoing rennovations for several weeks. "I was pretty sure no one was living there."
The fire damaged the rear of the house, including the back deck, but did not get inside, firefighters say.
An investigation is ongoing, but firefighters say, at this point, that the blaze does not appear to be suspicious.
The Perrys credit Coda, whom they adopted as a rescue dog, with saving their lives.
"He saved the house and myself," Leo Perry said. "I'm very happy."
With files from CTV Vancouver
