dog for saving life

A Cobb County man credits his dog for saving his life from an overnight house fire that the dog did not survive.

Scott Dunn told CBS Affiliate WGCL that he had fallen asleep on the couch with his dog Duncan in the living room of his home near Marietta.

"And the next thing I know he was pawing at me, barking and scratching, and I woke up and I couldn't see anything," Dunn told WGCL as he fought back tears. "The smoke was a foot from the floor."

Scott, who remodels homes for a living, could hardly breathe. He grabbed Duncan by his collar and when he opened the door "the flames just went everywhere."

He grabbed the keys to his truck ("because that's my livelihood"), but then he realized Duncan's collar had come loose. "I had his collar in my hand," he said.

He tried to retrieve the dog but, Dunn said, "He wouldn't come. I think he was just as scared as I was."

Dunn's neighbor was able to move his truck from underneath the carport as Dunn tried to go back in, "but the fire was so big."

Firefighters later found Duncan's body curled up on Scott's bed.

"That's my boy. He saved my life," Dunn said, sobbing. "I'm sorry. He saved my life, but I couldn't return the favor. It was too hot in there. I couldn't get back in there.

"Everybody that knew Duncan loved him. Everybody loved Duncan. Best dog in the world."

The truck and the clothes on Dunn's back are the only possessions he has, he said.

Dunn's home is a total loss, said Cobb County Fire Department Lt. Mike Bell. Investigators are trying to figure out what started the fire.