Dog saved man from fire before man saved dog

A man whose dog saved his life by waking him during a house fire repaid the favor when he re-entered the burning home to save the dog. Paul Kemp from Des Moines, Iowa, was awakened by his three-year-old Sheltie named Sheba at around 1:30am on Tuesday when flames started to engulf their home.

Kemp said he awoke on the living room couch to Sheba jumping onto his chest. "It was unusual, and startled me - and then I saw the fire," said Kemp. "So, I went and got my coffee pot, and threw some water on it and it didn't help, and it just grew really quickly." Kemp ran outside and assumed Sheba was with him like always, but she wasn't.

"I was yelling outside for her, and I didn't see her and I figured she had to be back in the house, so I went in the house and yelled for her, and then she came running and ran outside," said Kemp. Co-workers were shocked to see Paul and Sheba at work just hours after their ordeal, but at the Animal Lifeline this story of dog saves man, man saves dog goes hand in hand with the mission of the no-kill animal shelter. It's where sick, injured and abused animals get a second chance.

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"I love her, she's my little girl. I mean I've always loved her but now she saved my life, ya know," said Kemp. "She showed me that she's my best friend, because she was worried about me. I mean she wasn't running around when she first saw the fire. Her first instinct was to wake me up, ya know, thinking about me first." Kemp suffered some burns described as minor in the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Authorities said the home is a total loss. Kemp and Sheba are currently staying in a hotel.