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The date was June 5th and it was a Wednesday evening at about 11pm. My husband had just returned home from the hospital where our daughter was born just hours earlier. He was exhausted and starved from the long day that touched on every emotion he possessed. He walked through our front door and was instantly greeted by Marley, our 3 year old lab mix. Marley had been alone since 7am and in true Marley fashion basically tackled my husband so he would take him out immediately. They took a short walk and returned home where my husband had a quick bite and conked out in front of the tv in our bedroom. Marley lay quietly next to him on our bed. The events that took place a couple of hours later have been described by some as a divine intervention or miracle if you will, but Marley and my husband know the truth.

The time was 3am and Marley was barking steadily at our front door. My husband lay sound asleep in our upstairs bedroom without so much as a stir. The barking continued without notice. After about 15 minutes my husband was startled awake by our 70 lb. mutt as he jumped squarely on top of him in the bed and began to bark and growl. Naturally my husband told the pooch to be quiet and lay down, he also added that he would not be taking him out until morning. Just after pushing the dog off of the bed Marley ran down the stairs and barked furiously at the door again. This finally got attention as my husband stumbled down the dark stairway. He turned the corner into the foyer and through the small glass window of the door the flames were illuminating the entrance way. My husband shot out of the house through the garage to assess the situation and knew immediately he needed the Fire Department. Just after the call was made he located our extinguisher and tried to quell the flames. Within minutes the Fire Department arrived and controlled the situation.

The fire started in the light next to our front door where some leftover dry leaves were caught and ignited from the the heat of the light bulb. A firefighter on the scene congratulated my husband on having a smart dog that not only saved our home but also potentially saved my husbands life. The happiest day of our lives remains just that and it rivals the day we brought Marley home from the pound. I know that any dog lover will agree that Marley was the miracle that night and when we brought our new baby home he was right there with us in our joy.

Learn more about this author, Stacey Bonifati.
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