INDIANAPOLIS—Pit bulls get a lot of bad press, much of it undeserved. However, Ace, a pet owned by 13-year-old Nick Lamb of Indianapolis, did a lot to improve his breed’s image recently when he saved his master’s life.
Ace, the hero pit bull. Photo provided by the Indianapolis Fire Department to AP.
According to an AP report, Nick, who was born with a severe hearing impairment, was sound asleep on the night of July 16 when fire broke out in his family’s home.
As the blaze spread and smoke began to fill the house, Ace stayed by Nick’s side and tried to wake him up by barking. However, the boy, who had taken off his hearing aids before going to bed, kept on sleeping.
The resourceful canine then tried another strategy. As Nick told the AP later, “My dog licked my face and woke me up. I was like, ‘Stop it! What? You want to be fed?’ I thought he wanted to be fed or go outside.”
But Ace persisted, and when Nick was fully awake, the two of them managed to escape unharmed from the burning house, and called 911 and Nick’s mother (Nick handled this part).
When firefighters arrived, they were able to stop the blaze. They also rescued Pixie, the family cat, who was sent to the vet’s office suffering from smoke inhalation. She, too, was expected to recover, another beneficiary of Ace’s heroism.
Nick’s parents later told the AP that this was the first night Nick had been allowed to stay at home overnight without them. Fortunately, he was not alone.
