Dog’s bark awakens, saves family from house fire

SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. — A dog’s bark saved an Alabama family after their house became engulfed in flames.

Ralph, a 4-year-old Great Dane, doesn’t usually make a sound at night, so it was really strange when he let out a completely different bark Tuesday night, AL.com reported.

Derek Walker, who lives at the home with his wife and two children, got up to investigate and saw the fire outside the kitchen window.

“I just started screaming ‘fire’ to get everybody up,” Walker said.

The fire started from a grill and spread to the home, fire officials said.

The family, Ralph and one of their full-grown pigs were able to make it out safely. Their other pig, Pearl, died in the fire.

The home was heavily damaged. A crowd source funding account was started to help the family.

"Without Ralph, I don’t think we would have made it,″ Walker said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group