Meet the family dog being hailed as a hero after its quick reaction and persistent barking

Meet River, a black labrador dog that belongs to the Beaudreau family in Missouri. After River’s actions over the weekend, the prized puppy is being hailed as a hero.

What happened?

Around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, River wouldn’t stop barking. Her owners thought the dog wanted attention, but River was persistent and nudged her owners out of bed.

"I'm thinking, 'What a pain in the butt. What's wrong with you dog?’” Laura Beaudreau told KSDK-TV.

But for the family of five’s sake, it’s a good thing River had an itch that needed scratched. When Laura Beaudreau finally got out of her bed to see what was the matter, she realized why River had been so persistent: There was a fire in the family's garage.

Matt Beaudreau, the dad, told KSDK that when his wife opened the door to the garage, flames and black smoke billowed into the house. So the two parents rushed to awake their three kids, two sons and a young daughter, and ran outside with River. From there, they watched as fire consumed their home.

"River is a hero. She was sent like a guardian angel. She saved our lives,” Laura  Beaudreau said.

Investigators hadn’t yet determined the cause of the fire, although they knew it originated in the family’s garage. Unfortunately, the Beaudreau family knows all too well how to pick up the pieces. According to KSDK, they had recently finished remodeling after it was flooded a little more than a year ago.