A dog died in a New Year’s Eve house fire after saving his human sister, KCRG reports.
Jennifer Oleniczak woke up around 11:30 pm on Dec. 31 to a loud banging noise, before her neighbor shouted that her house was on fire. She yelled for her husband and 15-year-old daughter, Jaylee, to leave the house, and grabbed her Shih Tzus too, including six puppies.
Saving Their Dogs From the Fire
“I started to run with them outside, but I tripped. So, I broke my fall, and I started throwing the puppies out onto the patio. My husband was already off the deck, so he was grabbing the puppies and throwing them off,” she said.
“Then, there was like a seven-foot flame, and I see my last two puppies catch fire. I screamed at my husband. I just yelled, ‘Oh god, save me.’ And all of a sudden, the fire just fell, and I jumped.”
Oleniczak’s husband and neighbors helped her up, but then her daughter began shouting for Ollie, the family’s Pit Bull – he woke her when the fire started.
The family couldn’t find Ollie, so spent the next week searching for him. They checked the house as well as local shelters, and asked around on social media, but to no avail. Sadly, when Oleniczak’s husband went into the house, he found the canine at Jaylee’s bedside. “I just wanted to give him a big hug because had he not gone in there, Jaylee would have died,” she said.
“He was my hero, he saved my daughter’s life. He was the best dog in the world,” she continued, per KRIS-TV.
Fundraising for the Family
The family saved four of their dogs, but unfortunately a further seven did die in the fire. Oleniczak explained that officials don’t know what caused the blaze.
Their family have set up a GoFundMe to help the family get back on their feet after the ordeal, here.
