When the Lepert family’s home caught fire in Parchment, Michigan, Roscoe took action.
“He typically sleeps in the bed [with us] and wants to get up during the night at some time. Usually, we’ll tell him to lay back down,” Kim Lepert told The Dodo. “But this particular night he kept whining until he was let out.”
Brian Lepert brought Roscoe on a walk at 2 a.m., and upon returning, Roscoe sensed something was not right. He began whining at the door.
“Brian was going to go back to bed, but he saw Roscoe still sitting there. He sniffed the air, and thought, ‘Something’s not right,’” Kim Lepert said.
When Brian Leper opened the door, he saw flames coming up from a table. A space heater had been plugged into an extension cord, and somehow caught fire. Because Roscoe had such keen senses, the fire was able to be managed before spreading or engulfing the home.
The smoke began to clear and the basement fire alarms began to turn off after about 15 minutes. The Leperts knew they had been lucky to have such minimal damage from the fire.
If the fire had spread just a little farther, things would have gotten worse quickly.
“If Roscoe hadn’t been there to tell us, ‘Wake up, something’s not right,’ I don’t know what would have happened,” Kim Lepert added. “I’m glad that he did what he did, and woke us up with the persistence that he’s always had.”
While Roscoe looks like a tough cookie, he’s got a very warm heart. This 8-year-old dog is made of nothing but love.
Roscoe has lived with the Leperts through his entire life, along with his mom Sissy.
“They became the best of buds. Where Sissy went, Roscoe followed,” Lepert said. “There wasn’t a night in Roscoe’s life that he didn’t sleep next to her.”
In 2015, Sissy, unfortunately, passed away. Roscoe had a hard time getting past the loss of his father.
“The next few weeks were very hard on all of us, but mostly hard for Roscoe,” Lepert said. “But slowly, day by day, he came back.”
Roscoe now loves to spend his time with the Leperts’ grandkids.
“When the grandkids come over he just can’t get enough of them,” Lepert said, “giving kisses and snuggling up close to them.”
Roscoe’s loving ways are a great example of how incorrect a breed’s negative reputation can be.
“As with all dogs, it’s what you put into them that will be given back by the dog.”
“He’s very smart, very loyal,” Lepert said. “He’s our hero, that’s for sure.”
Source: The Dodo
