Animals do so much for us every day of our lives but we often fail to appreciate them enough. Whether you have had a hard day and a dog knows that if he comes and rests his head on your lap it will lift your spirits or when you receive some bad news and your cat rubs up against your leg and you can’t help but smile. Pets have strong bonds with their owners and do so much to help in so many ways. Yet news has now spread of one parrot who did more than any pet owner would expect. He saved his owner’s lives.
Louie was a beloved pet of Barbara Klein and her husband Larry. The green Macaw was always happy in the household and was able to speak a few words to the couple. He required little maintenance and together he, the family dogs, Barbara and Larry had a happy home. That was until one night a fire broke out. The fire started to spread from downstairs in the house and was moving quickly. The first to notice the fire was not Barbara or Larry, it was Louie.
Louie the parrot started to shout and scream “Fire! Fire!” until it actually woke Barbara and Larry. They were shocked when they awoke to the sound of their parrot but even more shocked to see smoke entering their room. They went out to the living area and saw that the fire was already strong and spreading quickly. Larry went and rescued his granddaughter who had been sleeping over. When he returned the blaze was too large. He tried to rescue Louie and the dogs but he was unable. They died in the fire. He was unable to salvage anything else and started to struggle to breathe.
Barbara shouted to him to get down on the floor and crawl out, doing so probably saved his life. He made it as far as the door but Barbara then had to drag him from the fire. They made it to the car and drove away to safety as their house burned down to a crisp. Larry was rushed to the hospital. He had suffered burns on his face and hands and had swallowed a lot of smoke. He had to be put into a coma so that medical staff could clean out his lungs. If he had stayed standing any longer or tried to go further into the house he would have died.
Although he was unable to rescue Louie, he was able to save his little granddaughter. The family still says that the parrot is the hero of the hour though. Louie’s shrill cries alerted the family to the disaster taking place. Even more surprising the family says they heard the bird shouting ‘Fire!’ but say that it is a word he had never spoken before. We don’t know enough about this parrot to know how he could come to know this word. Whether he had a previous owner, was saying a different word and the family just heard it like that or the parrot learned some new words and the family never realized, is unclear.
What is clear though is that Louie saved their lives and became a hero at that moment. His actions are an incredible indication of why pets are so amazing. The parrot likely knew that he was doing something for his owners. Whether he did or did not, his actions saved Barbara, Larry and their granddaughter.
The family house was destroyed but the community has already started to help them pick up the pieces. They have been donated a rent-free house for 3 months and someone has already given them a pet parrot, that they are aptly naming Louie Junior.
