KONAWA, Okla. – Amy Sanderson is thankful to be alive after she lost everything in a house fire.
It happened Wednesday evening – and her two-year-old dog, Bandit, saved her life.
Sanderson says she was in her bedroom when the fire started, and she didn’t realize what was going on until Bandit let her know it was time to get out of the house.
“My dog kept whining. He kept on and he wouldn’t stop, and he kept pawing at me. I figured he needed to go out to the restroom,” Sanderson said. “I got up and grabbed my walker, and when I turned around I saw the smoke coming in the room.”
Not only did Bandit let her know something was wrong, but Sanderson also says he led her out of the house.
“I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face the smoke was so heavy. He barked, and I followed his bark,” Sanderson told KFOR. “He kept standing right beside me… I followed him to the door and he led me outside.”
The cause of the fire was ruled unknown, but the Sanderson family believes it was an electrical fire that started in the kitchen.
They lost almost everything in the fire, but they were able to salvage some of the most important things.
“My son, he just found a picture of our four children when they were little,” Sanderson said. “He found a picture of them that was still good that had all four of the children, my daughter was pregnant, they all had their hands on my daughter’s belly.”
Since the fire, the family of five has been staying in a hotel just trying to figure out what’s next.
“I get so lost that I can’t think of what to do. I want to find a place for my kids,” Sanderson said. “Me, and my husband and my kids.”