Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) – Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes they have four legs and are covered in fur. Take the Ackley family’s dog, Gracie, for example. She saved her family from an electrical fire.

“And When he got up, he looked under the bathroom door, and he said ‘Denise, you left the bathroom light on,’” Denise Ackley said. “And I said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ So, we opened it, and he could see an orange glow coming through the bathroom window. And he said, ‘There’s a fire out there.’”

Ackley tells us that Gracie will normally stop barking, but this time, her persistence paid off. Her barking woke the Ackley family to a blazing fire engulfing their house.

“He came all the way to the back where Gracie was in her kennel, and he just saw flames in the back – what we call the game room,” Ackley said.

Stunned by just how quickly the flames were spreading, the Ackley’s and their hero, Gracie, escaped from harm’s way.

“Grab the cell phone that you call 911, grab Gracie and get out,” Ackley said. “So, that’s what we did, and we called 911. And the fire department, thank goodness, is maybe two miles around the corner.”

Gracie is currently in training to be a service dog for Dr. Dog’s Pet Therapy Program.

“They feel what you feel, and they can communicate their feelings,” Leo Stanford said. “The thing is, they bond so well.”

It’s a bond that saved the Ackleys’ lives.

“So, we say that Gracie woke us up and saved our life from the fire,” Ackley said.

You can apply for free smoke detectors through The Red Cross or the Louisiana Fire Marshal’s Office.

For more information about Dr. Dog’s Pet Therapy Program, call 337-802-5616.

Written by Jade Moreau