Dog alerts his family to fire in the back yard

Carl, the family dog, is the hero of the day following a barking frenzy that alerted his family to a fire that broke out in their back yard in Wellington Sunday night.

Rob Garden said he and his wife Caitlin were sleeping when “Carl started barking his head off. Sometimes he will do this when he sees a squirrel or his own shadow.”

But Carl was determined to get his message across.

“Caitlin shushed him, but he wouldn’t give it up,” Garden said. “He came into the bedroom and kept pushing his head against her face to wake her up. We woke up to find our sauna fully on fire.”

They called 911. Police and firefighters arrived quickly to extinguish the blaze.

“A big thanks to Constable Gretzky who was first on scene and helped move propane tanks and as much as he could away from the sauna while I used the garden hose to soak the pergola and pool liner,” Garden stated. “Thank you to the firefighters who got here quickly. In the chaos, it was neat for me to see former student Ryan Doolan first on scene checking on my family and taking the lead to contain the fire.”

The family is thankful for a happy ending to “a scary night that could have been way worse.

“We got super lucky and most importantly everyone is safe. Oh and dogs are awesome. I hesitate to think what might have happened if Carl didn’t wake us up.”

Carl, in this social media photo by Rob Garden