A farm dog is being hailed as a hero for alerting humans to a fire at a historic Massachusetts barn built more than 200 years ago.
Fire crews responded to the Natick Community Organic Farm on Eliot Street shortly after 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, WBZ reported.
The farm announced in a Facebook post that the barn had “burned to the ground” and three sows and 13 piglets died, but no humans were harmed thanks to Eddy the dog’s quick actions.
“She was so scared when she got here. But, she loves the farm and clearly wants to take care of it,” said Abby Biser of the Natick Organic Farm. “Now she’s not only my love, but my hero.”
The farm also thanked Natick firefighters for putting out the fire and farmworkers who could move vehicles away from the blaze.
The farm will be closed until Monday while officials investigate the cause of the fire.
The barn was built in 1815 using trees knocked down during a hurricane. The community farm has operated in Natick since 1975 and gets about 20,000 visitors per year.
The farm said that in addition to the barn and the pigs that were lost, the blaze also destroyed wheelbarrows, animal grain, hay, seedlings, and tools. The farm has started a GoFundMe page to ask for donations so they can recoup their losses.
As of Thursday afternoon, the page has raised more than $190,000.