by Sherry Morse

A three-year-old pit bull named Marley is credited with saving a little girl in Alaska from a house fire in early December.

Marley, a black and white dog who looks like Pete from the Little Rascals television show, grabbed the back of six-year-old Autumn Marley's jacket to drag her out of the burning house.

Autumn alerted her mother who was cooking dinner that the entryway to the house was on fire. Julie Marley then forced open a seldom used back door so she and her two daughters could escape the fire.

As Ms. Marley left the house she turned to see Marley the dog pulling Autumn through the door to safety.

Jennifer Ingram, Marley's guardian, said that, "She's always been an awesome dog, but I didn't know she was capable of doing this." Ingram has raised Marley from a puppy.

Ms. Ingram was out shopping for Christmas presents when the fire broke out and arrived home to find Marley running loose in the midst of all the firefighters and bystanders.

She planned to take Marley to the vet to treat frostbite on her feet from being out in the snow.
Thanks to Autumn and Marley no one was injured in the fire, although the house was a total loss.

The Red Cross set up a place for the Marley family to stay, while Ms. Ingram and Marley the dog are staying with a friend.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.