Pa. Man Credits Dog With His Safe Escape From Fire

Jan. 10--Gary Pennington's best friend may just be his dog Max.

The Dunbar Township man was released Sunday from a Pittsburgh hospital after escaping from his burning home late Friday / early Saturday morning.

But Pennington said the outcome could have been different if it weren't for Max.

Max saved his life, said Pennington.

Pennington was sleeping in his den in his Dunbar Township home, located along Vanderbilt Road. It was after 11 p.m. He heard bells chiming.

Max, Pennington's black Lab, was ringing the bells, located on the door at the den.

"He normally wakes me to go outside," Pennington said. "He knows to ring the bells so I can take him out."

Not wanting to get out of bed, Pennington told his dog to go back to sleep.

That didn't stop Max. He kept pulling at Pennington's shirt and pants.

"I woke up, and there was this big flame around me," Pennington said. "It was black as heck and I could hardly breath."

Pennington managed to head to the bathroom and proceeded to dump buckets of water on the fire.

One bucket. Two buckets. Three buckets. Four buckets. On the fifth bucket, Pennington observed the fire had spread. The room was black with smoke.

"If you'd ever see hell, that was it," Pennington said. "I knew if I took that bucket in there, I would die. I couldn't tell where I was at," he recalled.

With no other options, Pennington called out to Max. Through the thick black smoke, Max appeared. Pennington could feel the dog. He grabbed Max's tail. The black Lab led Pennington to the garage.

Max and Pennington made it to the entrance to the garage where Pennington said he was able to break through the screen door. He called Fayette 911 but he was barely able to speak due to smoke inhalation.

"If it weren't for Max, I'd be dead," he said.

Pennington's wife was visiting their daughter at the time of the fire.

In addition to Max, a second dog, a 12-pound Peek-a-poo, was in the house.

Pennington instructed Max to push the little dog to the garage, which he did. But the small frightened dog ran back into the living room.

Fortunately, the fire departments arrived on the scene and were able to save the smaller dog.

Pennington was transported to UPMC Mercy's burn unit.

Pennington said he's still having some difficulty breathing but he's on the mend and thankful for man's best friend who went above and beyond.

"He's a pretty damn smart dog," Pennington said. "I love him to death."

Fire officials have determined the blaze was started in an electrical outlet.