Tiny dog who alerted family to fire found safe

FEDERAL WAY, WA (KTRK) -- Firefighters made a remarkable discovery inside a burned-out house in Washington state. A tiny dog that was thought to be dead was still alive.

The chihuahua, named Chloe, is credited with waking up her owners when a fire broke out in their home.

"My mom's little 5-pound Chihuahua started barking when she saw the smoke," said Devon Whittlesey.

Chloe's non-stop barking woke up the family, who was still sleeping while fire spread through their home. Devon says if not for the barks, he might not have made it out alive.

"Smoke was pouring into my room," Whittlesey said. "I dropped down to my hands and knees and crawled to the front door."

All three residents of the home made it out safely, but Chloe was still trapped inside. When part of the home collapsed, the family thought they had lost her. But then an hour later, firefighters found Chloe still alive amid the rubble. She was covered in ash but otherwise okay.

The family says the home is a total loss, but are glad they still have the one thing they can't replace.

"She claws at us when she wants something," said Bob Fischer, one of Chloe's owners. "She just kept doing it until we woke up and then we looked up and there was smoke everywhere."

"Chloe saved us," added Whittlesey. "We wouldn't have lived. If the flames wouldn't have got us, the smoke would've."

"She's got 250 pounds in that little four-pound body," said Chloe's other owner Tracie Fox. "No doubt she saved us."