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Prized cocker spaniel saves Pennsylvania man from fire

Early Wednesday morning in the village of Atlas, Pennsylvania, a cocker spaniel named Oz nudged his owner awake. The house next door was on fire.

Randy Merlo now credits his 12-year-old dog with saving his life.

Oz woke Merlo as flames spread though the vacant house next door.

"He was nudging me, and I smelled smoke and we left," Merlo told WNEP-TV. "Saved my life, yes, he probably did."

The fire eventually spread to Merlo's home, causing fire, smoke and water damage. Merlo is staying with a friend until he can return home.

"This is a nightmare. All my windows are knocked out, but I guess the firemen had to do that. I appreciate all their help and I'm glad my dog and myself got out safely," he told News Item.

Firefighters are investigating the cause of the "suspicious" fire.

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In case of fire, it's handy to have a dog.

Earlier this year in Oklahoma, a pit bull terrier pounced on her sleeping owners to alert them to a fire. While the home was destroyed in the fire, the 10-year-old dog did manage to rescue both her owners and their five other dogs.

In July, 2012, a woman and her teenage son escaped a fire in their Fermeuse, Nfld., home thanks to their barking dog.

In September of 2011, a German shepherd-husky mix saved his owner from a fire at his Markland, Nfld., home.

And a year earlier, a 15-year-old boxer named Roxy ran from room to room in her Cape Breton home to alert her owners of a fast-spreading fire.