GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - Brittany the bull dog lived long enough to alert her owner to a fire in their Grand Rapids house.
"The smoke detectors didn't go off."
But Tuesday, three days after the fire, dog owner Scott Seymore put his pet to sleep.
9-year-old Brittney had cancer and he says she was suffering. He had to put her out of her misery.
"It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," says Seymore.
Seymore says he almost made the difficult decision sooner but a vet developed a pain relief plan to prolong her life. That's why Brittany was alive when the fire started early Saturday in the house Seymore rented on Seventh Avenue in Grand Rapids.
"She started barking and she wouldn't stop," he says. "That was unusual. She doesn't bark. The basement was full of smoke. I grabbed my dog and a couple of things and got out quick."
Within a few minutes, flames were shooting through roof above Seymore's bedroom.
"The smoke detectors didn't go off. What if she wasn't there?" wonders Seymore. "This might have a totally different ending."
After the stress of the fire Seymore says Brittney's condition worsened. After she knew he was safe, he says it seems like she knew it was okay to surrender to the disease.
"Like she was looking out for me," he says. "She hung on for a little extra time.
It teaches you something-- pay attention to your dogs, treat them well and they will return the favor someday when you might need it."
In your voice
