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Adopted Mich. puppy saves his new family

GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. - A puppy named Hunter is being credited with saving the lives of the family who adopted him just two weeks earlier, CBS Detroit reported Wednesday.

Hunter, a 3-month-old husky mix, was adopted from the Michigan Human Society at a Petco store in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights.

Two weeks later, on March 5, he alerted his new family to a gas leak from a burner that had been accidentally left on for hours. It was turned on enough "to emit gas, but not enough to light it," MHS said.

H
unter's nonstop whining woke up his new mom, Jill McLarty, who thought her new pooch needed to go outside, MHS said. When she let him out, Hunter just sat there and continued to whine.

McLarty let the dog back in and brought him up into the bedroom where her husband was sleeping. But Hunter wouldn't settled down. He kept whining and eventually began running in circles in the hallway. Finally, the dog ran to the kitchen. A bemused McLarty followed him.

"When she turned the light on, she saw Hunter sitting next to the stove, and noticed that one of the gas stove burners was on low, without a flame, causing gas to leak into the house," MHS said.

The McLartys estimate that the gas had been on since they had cooked dinner, nearly six hours before Hunter woke them up.

"He is the first dog we ever adopted (from MHS) and I would recommend it to anybody," said Tim McLarty. "And as cliche as it sounds, the life you save may save yours."


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