Dog News

Heroic Teen Braves House Fire to Save His Beloved Family Dog

by Amy Drew

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Would you run toward a burning building to save your best friend?

That’s just what 14-year-old Phoenix resident Mike Assi did when he saw smoke billowing from his family’s home as he boarded the school bus. Knowing the family dog, Zack, was trapped inside, the teen bolted on instinct.

“I wasn’t going to leave him,” he told Fox 10.

The cherished pit bull is more than just a dog to Mike.

“I sleep with him. He’s my sister’s, but I grew up with him… he’s family,” he said.

 

 

Mike says Zack is more than just a dog, "He's family." Photo: ABC15
Mike says Zack is more than just a dog, “He’s family.” Photo: ABC15

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Wisely, rather than running into the burning house, Mike simply opened the front door so he could let Zack out.

“I start yelling my dog’s name because I knew he was in there. He wouldn’t come out the front door. There was a lot of pitch-black smoke.”

When he couldn’t see into the house, Mike says he ran to the back door.

“I go through the backyard, I open the back door and I start yelling for him,” he said. “He comes out through the backyard. He sat in the backyard… he wouldn’t move. We were too close to the house. I had to pick him up to bring out through the front yard.”

Mike’s mom was at work but says she wasn’t surprised by her son’s heroism.

“He grew up with the dog… he spent a lot of time with his sister in her house, that’s why he love him to death… he not going to leave him,” Hana Bress told reporters.

 

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Both Mike and Zack were pronounced healthy by emergency crews at the scene.

A GoFundMe page has been setup to help the family, who lost a great deal in the blaze. Over $3,000 had been raised at press time.