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Pet goat saves Arkansas family from house fire

Posted at 5:25 PM, Apr 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-14 18:58:25-04

A pet goat is being heralded as a hero after it saved an Arkansas family from a devastating house fire.

Last Thursday, Abigail Bruce of Weiner, Arkansas received an unexpected 10th birthday present — a small white goat that she promptly named Speedy. Abigail's father Nick Bruce told reporters he originally “didn’t want anything to do with the goat,” but his attitude quickly changed.

Two nights later, Abigail was awoken when Speedy barrelled into her room, jumping on top of her and braying. When Abigail finally woke up, she saw the smoke.

The Bruce’s garage had caught fire while the family was sleeping, and the flames were quickly spreading to the rest of the house.

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Abigail quickly ran into her parents’ room and woke up her parents. The family jumped out the bedroom window and ran onto the front lawn.

The Weiner, Arkansas fire department arrived soon after and put out the fire. However, the home suffered significant damage in the blaze.

Despite losing their home, the Bruces are thankful for each other — especially the newest member of the family.

“I’m glad we got (Speedy) before the fire happened or we wouldn’t be here,” Abigail told KARK-TV. “... I think he means a lot right now. Well not just right now, but forever.”

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.