HERO HOG SAVES PAL’S BACON!
Closes door and slows fire’s spread
HAMILTON the pig is being hailed as a hero after saving his owner’s bacon during a raging house fire!
U.S. Navy veteran Gilbert Anaya, 30, squeals his 500-pound pet pig trotted to the rescue when his house in Union, N.J., went up in flames.
Anaya says the April 11 fire began when a surge protector in the garage short-circuited and set Hamilton’s bedding on fire.
The horrified hog hoofed it out the garage door to safety, but first he did a trick his owner taught him — he used his snout to close the door behind him, which deprived the flames of extra oxygen and kept them from immediately engulfing the house!
Anaya gratefully grunts Hamilton’s actions are why he is alive today.
“The fire department said him closing the door bought me 15 to 20 minutes. If he didn’t close the door, the fire and smoke would have spread faster!” says Anaya.
It was a still a close call for the combat medic, who has done tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fire “was basically licking the wood and support beams,” he says. “I was literally sleeping against the wall that was on fire!”
The first thing Anaya did when he made it out safely was to conduct a frantic search for his pig. He even kicked in the garage door the savvy swine had thoughtfully closed behind him!
Anaya finally found the plucky porker grazing happily in the backyard, unharmed.
Firefighters who responded to the scene managed to put out the blaze — but the damage to the house has turned it into a virtual pigsty!
While repairs are underway, Anaya is staying on a friend’s couch and hero Hamilton is bedding down in a makeshift tent under the stars.