By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.- Jodi and Todd Dowedite rescued Rufus, an adult German Shepherd mix, and Mulligan, a lab mix, from an animal shelter in 2006.
A week ago, the dogs returned the favor? alerting their family to a fire that was consuming their home’s attached garage and spreading to the house in the 800 block of Crabapple Court.
‘Alerting is an understatement,? said Todd. ‘My shepherd, who is very mild-mannered and easy-going, went absolutely ballistic.?
Todd was asleep in the master bedroom and Jodi was asleep on the couch with their 4-month-old daughter, Isabella, shortly after 8 a.m., May 23 when Rufus came to the end of the couch.
‘He started barking and I was trying to get him to go to sleep, I told him he didn’t need to go out,? recalls Jodi. ‘He was more persistent than usual… He put his nose right in my face and kept nudging me while I was laying on the couch.?
Jodi rose from the couch and opened the front door, thinking someone was in the yard. What she saw instead was smoke pouring from a corner of the garage. She ran to wake her husband, then ran outside to put Isabella on the grass and went back in again to find the phone to call 9-1-1.
‘I wasn’t thinking, it was just a reaction,? Jodi said. ‘I knew I couldn’t take the baby back in, but I had to find the phone before the whole house burned down.?
Brandon firefighters received the call at 8:15 a.m. and arrived to the garage fully engulfed in flames. The fire had spread into a third of the home’s attic space, but crews were able to get the fire under control in about 20 minutes, said Fire Chief David Kwapis.
The fire is under investigation, but does not appear suspicious.
The family, which also includes a beta fish, all escaped the burning house unharmed. Kwapis estimates the home sustained $100,000-$150,000 in damages, but said it could have been much worse without the warning from Rufus, who alerted to the fire before the smoke detectors went off.
‘The dog was able to realize much earlier that there was a fire,? Kwapis said. ‘I absolutely would say it’s dog karma, they have a heightened sense of smell and sound. The dog absolutely shortened the process. It’s a great story, the family is very lucky they got out as soon as they did.?
‘Rufus is my hero,? said Jodi, who is pregnant and due in November. ‘We rescued the dogs and they came to our rescue.?