A heroic hound saved a baby girl from a burning home in Detroit after the child in the apartment below torched the building when they were playing with a lighter.
The one-year-old baby named Chantal was trapped in her playpen as flames and thick black smoke ravaged the multi-family unit, located on Beniteau Street on Detroit’s East Side, February 21st.
Blue, the family’s rescue pitbull-Labrador-mix, raced to alert firefighters then ran back into the burning building to bring the firemen to her location, rescuing the tot.
Janet Kelly, the child’s mother, described her pit bull Labrador mix as her real-life Lassie. ‘He’s very protective of all of us,’ said the mother of four.
She claimed the fire started in the unit below after one of the children from the downstairs’ tenant was playing with a lighter and accidentally set the mattress ablaze.
When the tenants ran to tell the families in the unit to flee –the home had already burnt to the ground. Fortunately, no one was injured, but Kelly had lost everything.
Blue is pictured with baby Chantal after saving the tot from a voracious house fire on Feb. 21
The fire ravaged the home located on Beniteau Street in Detroit’s Eastside neighborhood
The child’s mother claimed that the child living on the first floor started the fire with a lighter
Kelly spoke of her family member Blue, who she adopted two years ago, from an animal shelter. He had been living on the streets.
‘Blue went running back into the house because he knew Chantal, my youngest was in her playpen,’ Kelly told Fox 2.
‘Firefighters had to chase him up and once they got up there, they realized that was going on.’
Kelly said her other three children were with her fiancé and were not home during the blaze.
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Unable to stay at a shelter because of her animals she was forced to live in her van with her four children ranging in age from 9,7,4 and 1.
As a last resort she created a GoFundMe.
‘Unfortunately we have to turn to gofund me because we have lost everything,’ she wrote.
Baby Chantal with her mother, Janet Kelly and the family hero, Blue, a pitbull labrador mix
The family photographed together at the Red Roof Inn in Roseville on Feb. 27
‘On Tuesday afternoon at 4:15pm February 21, 2023 our entire life has been turned upside down. The house caught fire from the tenants downstairs and the fire made its way up to our unit.
‘My girls lost everything from clothes to toys to food.
‘We are currently staying in our vehicle until we can find new housing… I’ve reached out to the landlord ( no help).
I’ve reached out churches and organizations but still no help… so here I am.’
Many donations poured in including from a woman named Kristen Bell, who donated $2,500, but its unclear if this is the actress and same Kristen Bell that it is in the Disney film, Frozen.
As of Thursday, the fundraiser garnered a total of $97,694 and Kelly expressed her heartfelt gratitude and told her supporters that ‘no more donations are needed.’
‘I would like to thank everyone for all the help and everything,’ she said. ‘This money will be applied to a new home for us.’
