The Old Times: DOG SAVES FIVE FROM DEATH IN FLAMES

It was January 18th of 1908, the temperature was in the 30s, and there were plenty of goings-on in the news. It seems there were plenty of murder cases, bank fraud, sick celebrities, and a mention of improved health from the Pope. But the real news was John Jurczyk's Scotch collie, simply referred to as "the dog".

But for the intelligence of a Scotch. collie dog, owned by Joseph Jurczyk, of No. 1155 Chene-st., Jurezyk, his wife and three children would un-doubtedly have lost their lives in a fire which destroyed the confectionery store of John Slock, at 12:30 Saturday morning.

Jurczyks lived in rooms over the store, The first intimation they had of danger was when the dog bounded into the sleeping room and literally dragged his master from the bed. The dog had been locked in the kitchen for the night, and access to the other part of the house was barred. by a sewing machine. In his efforts to awaken the family the dog had pushed the machine to one side and opened the door.

Jurczyk carried his wife and children to the street, and then fell un- conscious to the sidewalk. The dog was also unconscious for some minutes, but soon recovered when carried outside. John Slock, the owner of the store, who with his wife and sister-in-law live in the same building, also had Barrow escapes. They were awakened by Patrolman Steve Danewski, and Slock was then so overcome with smoke that he was only able to crawl to the sidewalk, where he lay in the snow for some minutes before being cared for by neighbors. Mrs. Slock and her sister escaped from the building by a rear door.

Nothing was saved from the store or the rooms. above, and the members of the two families stood about the ruins Saturday wearing clothing supplied by friends.The building, which is owned by John Slock, was damaged to the ex- tent of $400, the confectionery stock, valued at $1,300, was ruined, while the Jurczyks lost their furniture The origin of the fire is unknown. It started in the store and was burning fiercely when discovered.

Now let's break down the layers of this story. Firstly, this family of 5 lives above a candy store. They have a pretty awesome life going on here, and we haven't even gotten to the fact that they have a seemingly sentient pet, who they LOCKED IN THE KITCHEN WITH A SEWING MACHINE. This dog then miraculously pushed the sewing machine aside, opened the door, ripped his dumb ass master out of his bed who was sleeping through a candy store fire somehow and saved the lives of his family.

The store owner was saved by a policeman and the building was damaged $1,700 in 1908 money, which is about $56,000 now. The worst part of all of this is that the dog saved EVERYONE INVOLVED and they wouldn't even mention his name. The police would never have been there to save the Slock family had the dog not saved the Jurczyks. Also, it turns Pope Pius X didn't die until 1914, so that's good news too.