A ‘heroic’ dog abandoned on the side of the road alerted his foster owner to a huge garden fire hours after arriving at his new home.
Staffordshire bull terrier Bailey was taken to a temporary home in St Mellons after the kennels at Newport City Dogs Home reached capacity over the weekend.
But soon after his arrival on Saturday the Staffie, who is about 13 years old, detected smoke in a nearby garden and quickly sprung to the door asking for a walk.
Once outside, Bailey led dogs home volunteer Nicola Jones straight to the site of a large garden fire.
Staffordshire bull terrier Bailey (pictured) was taken to a temporary home in St Mellons after the kennels at Newport City Dogs Home reached capacity over the weekend
Ms Jones called the fire service who responded in enough time to extinguish the fire before it spread to the house.
Nobody was injured and the family who lived at the house were out at the time.
Ms Jones said she brought Bailey to her house at about 12.30pm on Saturday where he quickly settled for a nap.
‘At about 3pm he woke up and started barking and sniffing the air,’ she said.
‘He seemed anxious and unsettled – which I put down to the change of environment.
‘So even though it was pretty warm outside, I put his lead on and took him out to walk in a shady area.
But soon after his arrival on Saturday the Staffie, who is about 13 years old, detected smoke from a fire in a nearby garden and quickly sprung to the door asking for a walk
‘I was quite surprised at how keen he was to get out as I was told he was an older dog and fairly chilled.
‘We walked along my road towards the path leading to Hendre Lake – I intended to take him in the opposite direction but he insisted he wanted to go that way.
‘As we approached the end of the road Bailey stopped dead in his tracks and started barking again.
‘He wouldn’t move, wouldn’t budge, and I followed his gaze.’
Ms Jones said she saw smoke coming from a fire ‘blazing’ in a neighbour’s back garden and immediately called the fire brigade.
Bailey (shown) foster owner Nicola Jones straight to the site of a large garden fire
‘The fire started on a patch of grass outside the garden,’ she said.
‘But it has completely destroyed the fence and hedge and was moving very quickly towards the house.
‘I dialled 999 and thank goodness the fire brigade were there within minutes.
‘There was no one at home when it happened, if Bailey and I hadn’t been there I dread to think what would have happened.’
Ms Jones said Bailey settled down after the fire had been put out and returned calmly to her house.
‘He has taken it all in his stride and is just snoozing by my feet now,’ she said.
‘He just needs a loving home and a family to love and protect, because that’s what he was born to do.
‘I love staffies. They get so much bad press but I wish people actually understood how loving, intuitive and amazing they really are.’
Energetic and sprightly Bailey has been living at Newport City Dogs Home since he was discovered ‘unceremoniously’ abandoned and tied to a lamp post.
Staff at the dog home say he has settled into the routine of kennel life but sometimes can be heard whimpering at night.
Anybody interested in meeting Bailey or enquiring about adoption can visit Newport City Dogs Home or contact staff on 01633 290902.