The night of August 29, as Todd Lavoie and Mikaela Sebree were asleep upstairs in their Meridian, Idaho home, sparks began flying from an outlet and power strip somewhere on their first floor. The sparks triggered a small fire, which, according to the Meridian fire department, would’ve spread and “greatly damaged” the home and its residents had Jaxson, the couple’s dignified and snaggletoothed pug, not come to the rescue.
Jaxson, 11, saw the sparks and began loudly barking in what was described to BuzzFeed News as an “irregular tone and cadence,” which caused his owners to rush downstairs. Lavoie spotted the fire and quickly extinguished it.
“Firefighters determined that if it were not for Jaxson, the house, its contents, lives, and memories would have been greatly damaged as Todd would not have been notified about the fire until the fire alarms were tripped,” a city spokesperson told BuzzFeed.
Jaxson the pug became the 1st pet in Meridian history to receive the Hometown Hero award tonight! #JaxsonTheFireDog pic.twitter.com/6ilfNR0NRM
— Meridian Idaho (@MeridianIdaho) October 5, 2016
To reward him for his bravery, Meridian officials granted him the “Hometown Hero Award,” and firefighters gave him an honorary firefighter’s badge. Officials believe Jaxson is the first dog in town history to receive either.
Good job, Jaxson.
