Dog that saved owner from fire is euthanized

Bulldog whose barking awakened owner had been diagnosed with cancer

Image: Scott Seymour and his 9-year-old American Bulldog, Brittney.

Johnny Quirin / The Grand Rapids Press

Owner Scott Seymore said Brittney woke him up early Saturday when a fire started in his home in Grand Rapids, Mich.

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updated 4:28 p.m. ET May 27, 2009

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A terminally ill bulldog whose barking awakened her owner in time for both to escape from a burning house in Michigan has been euthanized.

The Grand Rapids Press reports that 9-year-old American bulldog Brittney was euthanized Tuesday at an animal hospital.

Owner Scott Seymore said Brittney woke him up early Saturday when a fire started in his home in Grand Rapids.

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The fire came two weeks after a veterinarian discovered the dog had several cancerous tumors.

The vet said the dog might not survive surgery and Seymore believed chemotherapy would be too hard on Brittney.

He decided to let Brittney live, with medication for pain. But since the fire Brittney's growing misery changed his mind.

Seymore says it was "really depressing."