Dogs are such incredible and loyal animals. They have great instincts and can often detect danger before humans can, and in emergency situations they will often put their humans’ safety before their own.
That was the case recently, after a pet dog tragically died while saving a teen from a burning home.
According to KHOU, Jennifer Oleniczak was alerted in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve by a “huge, loud banging” at their door. Waking up to investigate, Jennifer heard her neighbor yelling that her house was on fire.
As flames began to spread, Jennifer began alerting her family — her husband and her 15-year-old daughter Jaylee — to get out of the house, as she grabbed her pet Shih Tzu and six puppies.
Jennifer tripped while getting out of the house, and as her husband and neighbors helped her up, another hero was bravely saving the day.
Daughter Jaylee was still inside the burning home, but was thankfully alerted by Ollie, the family’s pet pit bull. It was the dog’s interference that allowed her to wake up and escape in time, saving her life.
“She said, ‘Yes, that’s how I heard the door,’ because Ollie came into the room,” Jennifer told the outlet.
The family lost a lot in the fire. In addition to losing their home, they lost seven dogs, although they were able to save four. But Ollie bravely made sure that Jaylee would make it out okay, preventing even further tragedy.
Sadly, Ollie didn’t make it out of the building. For days, there was no sign of him, and the family hoped that the heroic dog would turn up somewhere.
On January 9, Jennifer’s husband went in to the home and confirmed that Ollie had died in the fire. Tragically, he was still in Kaylee’s room right at the foot of her bed. It’s likely he collapsed from smoke inhalation.
The family was heartbroken, but knew that their loyal dog gave his life for their daughter’s.
“I just wanted to give him a big hug, you know, because had he not one in there, Jaylee would have died,” Jennifer said.
Rest in peace, Ollie. Thank you for saving Jaylee from this burning home, even if it meant losing your own life. You’ll be remembered as a true hero.
