A Winnipeg man who saved three dogs from a rapidly-growing fire is glad he could help his neighbour reunite with their pets.
Yesterday afternoon, while settling in at home from an earlier surgery, Taren Gesell says he and his wife noticed something peculiar as they sat in their rec room.
"We just kind of smelled something, like a real strong campfire... (my wife) went into the sunroom and saw that there were a big fire two doors down," Gesell says. "The first thing that came to mind was 'are there people inside...and how are their dogs?"
Late in the afternoon, the couple noticed a building fire in the home of a neighbour in the 700 block of Borebank Street.
The couple recognized the home to be of a neighbour they had a good relationship with, noting it was the neighbour would sometimes cut their grass for them or would watch their home while they were away.
Gesell, who was at home attempting to "take it easy," tried contacting the neighbour to tell him about the fire but received no answer. Instead of waiting, he and a friend headed to the house to see if anyone was home.
"I banged on the window to see if the dogs were in there and I started hearing barking."