Dog Jumps Out of Window to Escape Housefire

I'm not crying, you're crying. Ok, I am too. Luckily, they're happy tears, but what a dog did to save his own life just 2 hours southwest of New York State has left me speechless.

"Until you're a parent, you'll never understand". I've heard people say this countless times explaining the love they have for their child. While I'm not saying you can compare parental love to the feelings you have for a pet, this story hit me a thousand times harder now that my wife and I have our puppy Arthur. Thinking of him trapped in a burning home has me tearing up just thinking about it. I hope he'd be as brave as this Pennsylvania dog was when he leapt from a second-story window to safety.

Justin Steinmetz posted a video to YouTube explaining what happened. As he was driving, he noticed smoke billowing from a residential neighborhood. He pulled off to investigate and realized he was first on the scene of a rapidly growing housefire.

Unbeknownst to Justin, there were still animals trapped inside. As he walked around the house, he heard a commotion near the front, where he found neighbors and a firefighter coaxing a dog, Charlie, out of a second-story window that was pouring out black smoke. Looking hesitant and whining loudly, Charlie took one last look back at the fire before jumping out of the window to safety.

The homeowners were beside themselves with both grief of the loss of their home but also gratitude that not only did all of their pets survive, but that there were people like Justin who quickly sprang into action to call 911 and help rescue their pets. You can check out the whole video below, but first, how can you maximize the safety of your pets from the dangers of a housefire? There are a few steps you can take.

Fire Safety for Pets

The Red Cross recommends removing any potential dangers from the path of your pets. To stop your pet from being the cause of the fire, ditching real candles, which can easily be knocked over by pets. A further step you can take is making sure stove knobs are unable to be manipulated by your pets by either locking them or removing them when you leave the house. It's also recommended to have a "pets in the house" sticker affixed to a front window to help firefighters know what kind of pets (and how many) they should be looking for inside the house.

Speaking of miraculous rescues, check out these two amazing canine rescues from right here in the Hudson Valley below.