It’s said the dog is man’s best friend — and a tiny canine is credited with saving his master’s life during a house fire about 8 o’clock this morning in southwest Iowa. Randy Claussen, of Anita, says his pint-sized hound, a Chihuahua named “Ce-Ce”, is a hero.
“I woke up and my dog was barking at my bedroom door, he woke me up,” Claussen says. “I opened the door to see what was going on, a big cloud of black smoke came in so I hurried up and shut it, threw on some pants and shoes and went out the back bedroom window.”
Ce-ce also got out and will live to bark another day. Claussen’s wife, Theresa, had left just minutes earlier to take the couple’s children to school. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire, but Claussen suspects it may have been an electrical malfunction.
He says the fire might have been caused by a space heater, but when he got outside, he could see flames by the front bedroom window, which is where a lamp was plugged in. Firefighters from Anita and Wiota battled the fire.
Their efforts were hampered by a large amount of combustible material in the home. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon says the Red Cross would be working with the family to find housing and the basic necessities.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic