A Belgian shepherd dog saved the lives of three people from a burning building by waking them up with loud barks but perished in the flames, apparently because he was afraid to jump out of the window, police said on Wednesday.
"The dog noticed the smoke and fire first and pulled the covers off one 42-year-old man sleeping on a couch and woke up a couple, aged 45 and 47, in the bedroom with loud barks," said police spokesman Hartmut Labahn of the blaze in a second-floor apartment in Zirchow on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom.
"The whole top floor apartment was on fire when they jumped out of the window, but the dog unfortunately didn't make it out and was burned to death," he said. "There was so much commotion that the people didn't realize the dog didn't jump with them. They kept shouting his name but he never made it out."
The spokesman said the dog "might have been afraid to jump."