Three-legged beagle alerts owner to fire
Saw this in the newspaper today...
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To his family, he’s “Mr. B the Three-Legged Wonder Dog.”
To the rest of tiny Grayslake, the tri-ped beagle became a hero and an overnight sensation when he alerted his owner to a fire in their home earlier this week.
Troy Whalen, a medical software sales consultant, was working from his home in a Grayslake subdivision when the sprightly Mr. B began “acting goofy,” Whalen said.
His doggie shenanigans made Whalen pause his conference call and open the bedroom door. That’s when he heard thumping and glass breaking.
“I thought maybe someone was breaking into the house – or maybe a huge bird flew through the window. I don’t know, you think those sorts of things, you know?” Whalen said.
He didn’t smell smoke, and no smoke detectors sounded the alarm.
But Mr. B’s warning was warranted – by the time Whalen got to the front of the house, just past the kitchen, flames were already shooting in through a window.
When the Wonder Dog saw the flames, he “freaked out and ran back upstairs,” Whalen said.
So Whalen went back upstairs as he called 911 to rescue his rescuer.
“They’re yelling at me to get out of the house. I’m going ‘No, I have to get my dog!’” Whalen said. “He hid in the closet, so I had to find him and grab him.”
Grayslake Deputy Fire Chief Greg Formica said hot coals in an outdoor garbage can caused the fire.
Formica credits Mr. B with Whalen’s easy departure from the burning home.
“My new personal philosophy is, if a three-legged dog barks, listen,” he said.
Mr. B lost his back left leg when he was hit by a car as a puppy. His owners at the time didn’t want to fix him, Whalen said, but someone came along and thought Mr. B was worth saving.
He was passed on to an adoptive family, then was transferred to a neighbor of the Whalens’ when that family had to move. When those neighbors went on a European vacation, Mr. B stayed with the Whalens. And he never left.
“People just kept passing the three-legged dog on, but he’s obviously found a home now,” Troy Whalen said.
With the Whalens at their very temporary home in the Comfort Suites hotel in Grayslake, Mr. B is enjoying a hero’s treatment of non-stop treats and pats on the head.
And living in a small town has its perks for the Whalens, too – they’ve been showered with donations, offers of places to stay, and kind thoughts from the community.
“Our family has just been overwhelmed and blown away with the outpouring of generosity,” Troy Whalen said. “It’s a true feel-good story for how a community rallies around one of its own.”
The Whalens, who had adequate insurance on their property, will move into a rental home soon, and hope to rebuild and move back into their house during 2011.
