Hero dog warns family of house fire, drags baby out by diaper to safety
Sasha, an 8-month-old pit bull, was sitting outside of her Stockton, California, home Sunday, June 3 when flames began to engulf the apartment building. Sasha's owner, Nana Chaichanhda, and her baby were inside.
The quick-thinking dog jumped into action, alerting Chaichanhda about the fire before she even realized the blaze herself. The fire eventually destroyed most of the four-plex, but not before Sasha helped get her family out.
"June 3, 2018, I was awaken by my pit bull pup Sasha banging and crying at my backyard door. Little did I know, Sasha would become my hero," Chaichanhda wrote on a GoFundMe page intended to raise money after losing her home in the fire.
"My neighbors home was totally destroyed, and the fire was quickly spreading to my unit," the mother wrote. "[Sasha] was trying to warn us of the fire. I got out of bed to see what was going on. At that moment I opened the back door and Sasha ran into our home, straight into our bedroom."
Chaichanhda said at first she was confused, then realized her cousin's apartment, which was right next door, was up in flames. "I ran into the bedroom, where Sasha was already dragging my 7-month-old baby off the bed by her diaper," she wrote. "Thanks to Sasha we were able to get out safe and call 911."
Firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to save most of the building. Chaichanhda and her cousin's apartment were destroyed in the blaze. The family is now staying with relatives who live in one of the surviving apartments, CBS affiliate WTVR-TV reports.
Chaichanhda says it's because of Sasha that she and her baby are safe, and she hopes her story helps change the negative perception of pit bulls.
"I owe her everything. If it wasn't for her, I would have still been in bed and things could have taken a worse turn," she said.
