While a Greenville, South Carolina family was out to dinner, their house caught on fire. But Mia, their 1-year-old Belgian Malinois knew what to do to survive.
Incredibly she found her way to a bathtub on the lowest level of the house where she waited while firefighters soaked the home with water.
As the water ran down to the basement, it filled the tub and soaked Mia keeping her safe from the raging flames.
It took six hours to bring the fire under control because of the intense flames and the size of the house.
Mia's owner, Chris Brumby, was amazed at how the dog survived, but said he knew she was smart. "She acts like a human for most things," Brumby said. "And that kind of showed it. She knew where to go and hide."
Mia had learned how to open doors all through the house. To get to the basement she had to open four doors.
When firefighters brought her out of the house, she was wet, dazed and covered in soot. She literally had steam coming off her, Brumby said.
The Belgian Malinois is often used as a police K-9 officer. I think we can see why.
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Wow, what an amazing dog! I once trained a Belgian shepherd (the long-haired, black kind) for the show ring. She was a delightful and enjoyable girl, but I don't think she could open doors.
Posted by: threecollie | May 01, 2011 at 03:46 AM
Wow, that's amazing! What a clever dog.
Posted by: Tracey | May 01, 2011 at 04:08 AM
Those damned Belgians are so freakin' smart!
Mom saw this on the Belgian List she's part of - as she plots fur one day having a Tervuren in her life -
Of khourse, that is khool with me!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
Posted by: Khyra | May 01, 2011 at 07:37 AM
Great! Another happy ending.
Posted by: Anne Gibert | May 01, 2011 at 08:35 AM
that's amazing.
Posted by: the 4Bs | May 01, 2011 at 09:39 AM
A fantastic story - that dog was truly amazing!
Posted by: Clive | May 01, 2011 at 02:55 PM
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Posted by: Lindsay | May 01, 2011 at 05:02 PM
I had the privilege of living with a Belgian Malinois for 14 wonderful years and yes, they are smart! She also seemed more human than animal. They are wonderful,energetic, loyal and faithful companions and I miss my Georgie girl very much. Thank you for sharing this! It's great to hear a story with a happy ending!
Posted by: Karbicyclepettrailer | May 01, 2011 at 08:20 PM
Wow, what a smart dog! I doubt that there are humans who could pull off what she did.
Posted by: cube | May 02, 2011 at 09:53 AM
Wow what a incredibly smart dog. To not only be able to find safety from a fire but to also stay there and ride out the fire, very clever. What an amazing dog, I love stories like these!
Susan Ryan
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Posted by: Susan Ryan | May 03, 2011 at 01:53 AM
OH! I'm so glad they got there and were able to get her out!
Linda
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Posted by: Linda | May 03, 2011 at 02:27 PM
That is one smart dog. I wish my dog is also that smart.
Posted by: dog training books | June 17, 2011 at 07:10 AM
The dog is really clever. Maybe it had an adrenaline rush back then. A person stuck in a house fire should do the same thing. The water helped keep the dog's temperature at a low level and protected her from the fire. I wonder what it looked like after being rescued. Do animals feel trauma, too?
Posted by: Annalise Johnnie | October 14, 2011 at 12:58 PM
That's great news, poor Mia must have been pretty scared though but i am very happy to hear she survived......
Posted by: Japanese Soaking Bathtubs | February 20, 2012 at 09:38 PM