An Atlanta musician named Ed Stroud says he owes his life to his rescue Maltese Poodle named Gracie.
The local musician, who has played with artists like Outkast and TLC says he was asleep around 3:30 am when Gracie woke him up. “She started licking my face, and then she started barking,” Stroud said. “I woke up, and my eyes got like this, and that’s when I saw the flames everywhere.”
Stroud was sleeping when his home on Baker Street caught fire on December 20, and by the time Gracie woke him up, the smoke and fire was so intense that he had to feel his way out of his home. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. I’m about to die if I don’t do something fast,'” he said.
Stroud and Gracie made their way to the kitchen, and they barely got out alive. When firefighters found him, he was unconscious near the door.
Stroud’s neighbors called 911, and he was rushed to the hospital with first and second-degree burns to his face, ears, and arms, but says he’s lucky that the burns on his hands were minor. “With me being a guitar player, I need my hands. This (is) my money maker right here,” he said.
Firefighters treated Gracie for smoke inhalation, and she is doing OK.
Gracie is staying with Stroud’s sister until he gets out of the hospital, and Stroud cannot wait to see her. “I love her to death. I really miss her. I can’t wait until I get a chance to see her again,” Stroud said.
While the fire is still under investigation, Stroud owes his life to his tiny dog, because if it wasn’t for her, who knows if they would have made it out of there.
The music community has even stepped up to help Stroud by putting on a benefit concert to raise money for everything that Stroud lost along with his home. “He’s lost a lot of his clothes. He’s lost equipment, housing, we’re gonna have to find that,” said talent manager Kathrine Williams, who is planning the benefit concert, which will be held Jan. 10 at Café 290 in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
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[Featured Image Credit: WSBTV]
