A Dog Quickly Sensed That Something Was Wrong, So She Alerted The Entire Family

If you’d told us this was a scene ripped straight out of a movie, we’d have believed you. It was intense! So, where did the drama unfold? And when? Well, it all happened in Ankeny, Iowa, just days before Christmas in 2021.

Brad Harbert was at home with his young son and his dad, blissfully unaware of what was to come. Then, there was Roxy — the clan’s beautiful pet dog. She’s a mixed breed, with a coonhound and husky background. But what about her behavior? What’s her temperament like?

Brad provided a bit more insight on that front while speaking to the WHO13 station in December 2021. After describing Roxy as “mild-mannered,” he added, “She doesn’t really bark a lot. She does howl if you ask her to talk.” Calm and quiet — not all dogs are like that!

Mind you, Roxy’s demeanor shifted quite dramatically as the evening drew in. By this point, Brad and his family were fast asleep in their beds, yet the same couldn’t be said for the dog. Something was really bothering her, and she couldn’t keep it to herself.

So, Roxy did all she could to shake Brad from his slumber. The Ankeny resident looked back on that moment during his chat with WHO13. “I could tell something was up with Roxy,” he recalled. “She just was jumping off my bed, [and] jumping back up on the bed.”

Brad’s familiarity with Roxy’s behavior was key here. If he wasn’t as perceptive, who’s to say what his reaction would’ve been? The dad may well have just ignored her and returned to the land of nod. But that’s got us thinking — what changes in body language should you be looking out for if a dog senses danger?

Now, that isn’t as simple as it may initially sound. You see, dogs display a range of different behaviors when their moods shift. And frankly, it can be tough to keep up! Try not to worry, though, folks. We’ll talk you through some of them to help avoid confusion.

For instance, barking might seem like an obvious sign that something’s wrong. Yet that isn’t always the case. As per the Canine Journal website, it could actually just be a tell that the dog’s happy. It’s much the same if they’re displaying “wide eyes” as well — but here’s where you need to keep your peepers peeled.

Watch the rest of the dog’s body — if their “wide eyes” are coupled with lots of physical movement, that’s usually a sign of excitement. But should they stiffen up, that suggests they’re afraid. It’s an easy thing to miss when you aren’t looking for it.

Speaking of fear, there are a couple more things to take on board, too. And in truth, they might sound fairly innocuous. We’ll start with yawning. When a dog does this, it isn’t a sign of tiredness. Instead, it’s a potential tell that they’re uneasy. “[It can] remove internal tension,” Canine Journal explains.

On that note, could dogs respond to danger with a yawn? It’s possible. Constantly licking their snouts is another unexpected sign when it comes to growing anxiety as well. But their body language isn’t always subtle in moments of crisis, as we’re about to discover.

Yes, the website Wag! noted that dogs can begin to shake if they feel that something’s awry. Others might also try to conceal themselves under a piece of furniture to stay safe in the home. So the reaction can vary from pooch to pooch.

We can’t forget about hyperactivity, either. Roxy’s behavior in December 2021 mirrored that of a lot of other dogs in similar situations. Now we’ve laid all that out, let’s head back to Brad’s place. How did he respond to her urgent body language?

Well, one thing’s for sure — Brad didn’t go back to sleep! He slowly started to stir and shake the mental cobwebs from his head, as Roxy continued to pine for his attention. What was bothering her? The dog’s owner cast his mind back to that night while speaking to WHO13.

“When I started to come to, I was hearing an alarm,” Brad recalled. “And it wasn’t the smoke alarm.” Uh-oh. That’s never a good sign. He continued, “I jumped out of bed. Right when I did, Roxy came out to the hallway.” Guess we’ve found the cause of her concern, then! Where was it coming from, though?

While Brad scrambled down the hall to investigate the sound, Roxy turned her attention somewhere else. Yep, she began to tap on the door leading to the room containing Jackson Harbert — her owner’s son. That’s pretty amazing, right? The dog was trying to warn everyone in the house.

Anyway, as Roxy was doing that, Brad located the source of the noise. The Ankeny resident was bang on the money in ruling out the smoke detector. But that didn’t make the alert any less dangerous. You see, it was coming from his carbon monoxide alarm.

Within moments, Brad realized the true severity of the situation. He explained, “I grabbed the [carbon monoxide] detector and found out that if it chirps four times, it’s triggered. [That means] there’s active carbon monoxide in the house.” Oh boy. Without overstating the situation, that’s very bad news.

In case you aren’t aware, carbon monoxide’s a chemical vapor with no smell or shade to it. It’s practically invisible, which makes the next fact all the more terrifying. To put things bluntly, CO’s toxic. And it can be easily unleashed at home if you aren’t careful.

The MedicineNet website notes that “poorly functioning heating systems” can cause a carbon monoxide leak, along with camping stoves and water heaters. Oh, and cars can spread the gas inside your home as well. But don’t panic, folks! Detecting it isn’t impossible.

For instance, if brown or yellow marks start to form near a stove or your boiler, that could indicate an accumulation of carbon monoxide in the area. Dark stains on the casing of a gas fireplace are another thing to keep your eye on, too. Pilot lights will also become a lot less reliable than before.

If you miss all that, though, changes to your health can serve as an additional indicator. And it can get pretty scary. MedicineNet reports that headaches, sickness, a loss of breath, torso discomfort, and seizures are some of the more recognizable indicators of CO exposure.

Animals aren’t immune to the gas, either. Yes, your furry friends can be damaged by it just as much as you. Thank goodness Roxy sprang into action for her family, then! But unfortunately, not everyone shares that same good fortune. MedicineNet states that 400 people lose their lives to carbon monoxide poisoning in the United States annually.

So how can you stop CO leaks before they cause real damage? Well, first things first: you might want to think about picking up a carbon monoxide alarm. After all, it worked for Brad in his time of need, and there’s no reason why it won’t for you.

In addition to that, make sure that all of your gas and heating equipment gets a yearly check-up by a specialist. They’ll quickly see if something isn’t right. And should your house have a chimney, give that a scrub, too. Any kind of blockage can lead to an accumulation of carbon monoxide indoors.

Oh, and when barbecue season rolls around again, don’t ignite the charcoal before heading into the yard. As soon as it lights up, carbon monoxide’s released into the air. So, as you can see, the preventative measures aren’t that difficult to enforce.

Going back to Brad and his clan, though, what did they do once the situation became clear? Simple: he evacuated Roxy, Jackson, and his dad from the property straight away. And thankfully, none of them showed any signs of CO poisoning.

At that stage, Brad quickly contacted the emergency services, with the Ankeny Fire Department dropping by a short time later. But they couldn’t pinpoint the location of the leak inside the house. In the end, MidAmerican Energy had to solve the mystery.

After taking a closer look, workers from the company narrowed the source down to one particular spot. Yep, Brad’s gas and electric fireplace was to blame. Given his lucky escape, the dad made sure to warn others with similar appliances to check them over from time to time. Better safe than sorry, right?

Anyway, thanks to Roxy’s heroics, this tale quickly gained a lot of steam online. Outlets such as People, the Daily Mail, the New York Post, and the HuffPost website all covered it during December 2021. Folks just couldn’t get enough of the story.

The story also encouraged others to share their own experiences with carbon monoxide. To give you an example, a user on the Daily Mail website took to the comments section. They wrote, “[That dog has] beauty and brains! What a good girl! Ten years ago, I woke up to my carbon monoxide alarm going off in the morning.”

“I was home alone with my newborn daughter,” the reader continued. “My husband was at work. I was in tears swaddling my baby on my front porch when firefighters arrived. If not for our detector going off, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m so glad that Jackson, Dad, Grandpa, and Roxy are okay. Give that girl a steak!”

You can’t say that Roxy didn’t earn one! But even if she didn’t get a meaty treat afterwards, the dog certainly received no end of praise from her owners. Brad was all too aware that without her intervention, this tale mightn’t have had its happy ending.

Brad told WHO13, “[Roxy’s] pretty special to us. I can tell something was wrong that night — she woke me up, and just her actions — she was kinda shivering and just really concerned that we weren’t gonna get outside. [I’m] very, very happy to have a dog. And very happy to have her.”