Images credits: DailyMail Online

Not only humans can be called heroes, even animals, too. In a hospice in Leningrad, Russia, a fire broke out in the building with four patients inside. The fire department was quick to respond and was able to put out the fires, and only a few people were injured, but no one is killed. The savior? A pregnant dog named Matilda.

Matilda is the dog of the clinic owner and is soon to be a mother. Her pregnancy did not hinder Matilda from helping people out of the burning hospice. When she saw the building was on fire, she rushed in and pulled down the fire alarm, barked, and alerted the people inside. The fire brigade was called to the scene, and the people inside immediately evacuated. Luckily, Matilda was alert, and the firefighters arrived in time to help the patients out.

The four people were lucky and with only minor injuries, but Matilda was otherwise. She passed out in the building due to inhaling too much carbon monoxide fumes and did not make it outside on time. Two volunteers at the hospice, Elena Kalinina, and Alexander Tsinkevich, found her unconscious and were able to take her out of the burning building. She was taken to a vet for treatment.

Although Matilda survived with the help of the volunteers, her abdomen, neck, and face were grievously burned. She was crying and trembling in pain, and she was taken to the Vasilek shelter in St. Petersburg. She endured everything and licked the wounds on her feet on the vet’s table. There, the vet applied bandages to her injuries, and Matilda was so badly burnt that they had to cover her face and ears with gauze. Her chest, abdomen, and limbs were also covered.

“Matilda’s face, neck, and abdomen were severely burned,” said a spokesperson from the shelter. “She was checked by a fertility specialist who looked at her for a very long time and carefully studied the puppies. They are all alive and developing well.”

Luckily, the babies in Matilda’s belly are strong and well. She is due to give birth between the 25th to the 28th of November, though it is still unknown how many babies she is carrying until after she has delivered.

“For now, it is impossible to know the number of babies she is carrying since she is a big dog.”

Due to the burns, Matilda will be unable to breastfeed her puppies, and the hospice staff is looking for a nanny to take care of her babies. Matilda’s owner is also injured in the fire and is unable to take care of her until she recuperated.