Dog saves owner from burning house, then owner saves dog

In Des Moines, Iowa this week, a dog and his owner saved each other from a house fire.

Early Tuesday morning, a 3-year-old Sheltie named Sheba woke up owner Paul Kemp, who had fallen asleep on the couch, by jumping on his chest.

Kemp opened eyes to see a fire blazing just 10 feet away from him.

"It was unusual, and startled me — and then I saw the fire," Kemp said of being startled awake by his dog. "So, I went and got my coffee pot, and threw some water on it and it didn't help, and it just grew really quickly."

Kemp immediately ran out of the house, assuming Sheba had already escaped the burning building. She hadn't.

It was Kemp's turn to do the saving. He ran back inside and yelled for his dog.

Sheba came running.

The house was completely destroyed in the fire. Thanks to his loyal pet, Kemp only suffered minor burns.

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"I love her, she's my little girl. I mean I've always loved her but now she saved my life, ya know," Kemp, who works at a no-kill animal shelter, told KCCI. "She showed me that she's my best friend, because she was worried about me. I mean she wasn't running around when she first saw the fire. Her first instinct was to wake me up, ya know, thinking about me first."

"He just loves that dog," said Amy Jones, assistant manager at Animal Lifeline Thrift Shop. "He's so thankful for what happened and what he's got. That dog is his life, his pride and joy."