Dog Wakes Up Man in Burning Alabama Home

Oct 18, 5:34 PM (ET)

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) - When three smoke alarms failed to wake up Josh Coats during a fire that heavily damaged his home, his 4-year-old English bulldog's frantic barking turned out to be the wake-up call that saved his life.

"If Princess hadn't woke me up, I don't think I would have woken up," said Coats, 25.

Coats said he had put a load of clothes in the washer and another in the dryer around 2 a.m. Tuesday before going to bed. The fire is believed to have begun around the clothes drying. Coats said he awakened to the dog's frantic barking about 30 minutes after getting in bed.

"I jumped up, pulled on my pants, grabbed Princess and went outside and called the fire department," Coats said.

He also called his mother, Wilodean Coats, who shares the house with him and who had left a few minutes earlier to deliver TimesDaily newspapers.

"People are asking me all the time how much I would sell her for," said Wilodean Coats. "I always tell them she's not for sale. Now, they don't need to bother asking if she's for sale, because they couldn't afford her. She's priceless."

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Information from: TimesDaily, http://www.timesdaily.com


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