HECTOR, Ark. (KARK) – A 10-year-old deaf blue heeler was called a hero Monday morning following saving its owners and their three kids from a home fire.
Mike and Jennifer Geurian are both Hector Volunteer Firefighters. They said they never thought they would fall victim to a fire themselves.
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When asked if this story may have been different had Dakota not been there, Hector Fire Chief Jake Jones stated, “Yes, I believe so; I believe Dakota is the difference between them being alive and them not being.”
“I remember waking up, and I remember I was shaken and you know we were all scared and I didn’t quite register what was all going on until we had gotten out,” Jennifer Geurian said. “My kids, you know, were all crying, and in the end, we were thankful that it was him (Dakota) who woke us up and got us out.”
When the Geurians got Dakota, he was only six months old. Ear mites infested his ears. Once treated, they discovered it was too late; Dakota was deaf.