Loyal family dog dies after he saves the life of his ten-year-old owner when fire sweeps through their home

A loyal family dog lay over her ten-year-old owner to protect him from a dangerous blaze - and tragically died saving his life.

Lisa Marghella's son, who hasn't been named, was trapped in his bedroom when their family home went up in flames.

Her husband ran to get a hose to try and put the fire out but noticed the balcony on his son's bedroom was fiercely ablaze.

Quickly realising the fire had spread faster than they realised, two family friends ran into the little boy's room to get him out, but Zoe the Alsatian was already there.

When they opened the door to his room, they were hit with a wall of smoke.

Lisa told a local TV station her friend said,  "The whole room was filled with smoke. She couldn’t even see it. She really, honestly didn’t think my son was alive.”

That’s when she spotted Zoe, one of the family’s dogs, lying on top of the boy. “Zoe, she was sleeping over his face so he didn’t get the smoke,” Lisa explained.

They were able to save the 10-year-old boy from the fire, but unfortunately Zoe didn’t make it. The family also lost a cat and two other dogs in the blaze.

The family are slowly coming to terms with the death of their beloved pets, especially Zoe. "She was a hero, she saved my son's life and I will miss her more than anything," she said. 

What a special pooch.