Man rescues elderly woman from house fire — then his dog saves her dog
Last week, Cleveland residents Richard Keith Taylor, his wife, Melanie, and their dog, Ace, were out for a drive when they noticed something alarming at a nearby home — and immediately pulled over to help.
“The window was glowing with fire,” Richard said in a post from the Cleveland Fire Department. “We had to make sure everyone was out.”
Richard was about to save a life. And not long after, Ace did too.
Arriving to the front door of the home, Richard spotted an elderly woman inside, disoriented amid the billowing smoke and flames engulfing the structure.
“[He] climbed the steps, went through the security door into the smoky house, located the woman, picked her up, and carried her out the front door. As he crossed the porch, the large window he had seen flames in shattered,” the fire department wrote.
Tragedy had been avoided thanks to Richard’s heroism. But what he didn’t know at the time was that there was another soul still trapped inside.
After firefighters arrived and worked to extinguish the blaze, Richard, Melanie and Ace lingered close by. When it was safe enough to get closer, the dog was suddenly struck by a new concern.
“Ace began pulling on the leash, sniffing and straining toward a boarded-up basement window. [Richard] told the Battalion Chief on scene that Ace was indicating toward the window. ‘He smells something down there,’” the fire department wrote.
Firefighters had already checked the basement. But at Ace’s insistence, they took another look.
There, cowering behind a closed door, was the homeowner’s dog. He’s believed to have sought safety in a room within the basement during the fire, after which the door leading into it was blown shut, trapping him.
Thankfully, the dog was unharmed. But if it weren’t for Ace, he may very well have continued to go unnoticed.
Together, Richard and Ace saved two lives that day — earning praise from firefighters and the community alike.
“It’s God’s work,” Richard said. ”Just glad I was in the right place at the right time.”
Ace, no doubt, would agree.
