Rescue dog saves new family from fire

A Woodstock family is grateful that they managed to escape a large brush fire as it approached their home, and the unlikely hero was their dog.

The Newman family has three kids and four dogs-- which can make things a little hectic.    Mom Sarah says she got the oldest dog in the pack, Charlie, when she was in grad school.  She says he followed her home one night about 14 years ago, and he's been part of the family ever since.  These days, you'll find him resting.  

In between having kids, the dogs kept coming for the Newmans.  They had Abby, then Molly, and finally Bear.  Bear was on the list to be euthanized in Chatooga County until the group Angels Among Us took him in.  Spokesperson Karin Wallace told FOX 5 the group had him for over a year before he finally found a great adoptive home with the Newmans.  

But the Newmans had no idea how perfect the timing was when they saw Bear online.  They say he actually reminded them of Charlie.  And after having Bear for only four days, something strange happened.  

Sarah Newman says the family went to sleep one night, and around 2:30 a.m., Bear started barking and wouldn't stop.  She says he was facing the front of the house barking, so her husband got up and looked out the window-- only to find a huge brush fire burning in the woods.  Newman says if it weren't for Bear's barking, the fire probably would have made it to their house before they knew it was burning.  

Firefighters got to the blaze in time, and only a charred fence in the yard reminds them of what could have happened.  

Wallace says this is the type of story their organization hears about all the time-- previously unwanted animals coming to the rescue just in time.

Click here for a link to Angels Among Us Pet Rescue.