A California mother is hailing her pit bull as a “hero” after the dog rescued the family from a fire that broke out at their home.
Nana Chaichanhda told KTXL in an interview published Sunday that the eight-month-old pit bull, Sasha, banged on the back door to alert the family to the flames engulfing a fourplex in Stockton.
“I open it, and she runs in and starts barking at me like crazy, and I was like, ‘OK, this is weird. This is not like her,'” Chaichanhda said.
While Chaichanhda discovered her neighbor’s building had been on fire, the dog bolted past her into a bedroom where her seven-month-old daughter, Masailah, lay on the bed.
By the time Chaichanhda noticed, Sasha had already sprung into action to save the infant.
“I ran into the room, and I see Sasha,” Chaichanhda told KCRA. “She has my baby by the diaper, just dragging her off the bed – trying to get her to safety.”
The family escaped from the building unscathed, but the fire’s damage caused their home to be uninhabitable.
The family set up a GoFundMe page to rebuild their lives and offset the damage caused by the fire. As of Sunday afternoon, the family has raised $825.
The Stockton Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.