Two very brave boys are hailed as heroes after their quick-thinking saved the lives of three dogs in Coventry, Rhode Island. The helpless animals were stuck in a burning home, but the boys were at the right place at the right time to save the day. The moment was caught on video by the house’s doorbell camera!
13-year-old Mario Comella and his 12-year-old buddy, Anthony Lombardi, were riding their bikes through the neighborhood, when they heard fire alarms coming from one of their friends’ house. As they got closer, to investigate, they immediately noticed smoke coming from under the front door, then they heard the dogs frenetically barking inside.
The two boys knew they had to act fast in order to save the hopeless dogs, but fortunately, as they approached the front door, the doorbell camera activate itself and that allowed the homeowner – John Salisbury, their friend’s dad – to communicate with them. After the man gave them the entry code, the boys were finally able to open the door and set – Faith and Boo – two of the dogs free. But as it turns out from the footage, one of the boys – Mario – goes inside the house who free the third dog – Chase, a German Shepherd – who was inside a crate.
At the time the fire started, the homeowners – John Salisbury and Athena DiBenedetto – were having their breakfast at a nearby restaurant. They both praised the two boys for their heroic actions.
“With all of the smoke billowing in the house, he didn’t even think twice. He ran in and let the dog out,” Athena DiBenedetto told 12News. “It was very emotional. Those are my babies…I still can’t watch [the security video] without getting teary-eyed and thinking about what would have happened if they were there five or 10 minutes later.”
The boys said they’ll definitely do it again if necessary, especially Mario whose uncle lost his dog in a similar incident. “I was thinking, ‘this happened to my uncle, so I’m not going to let this happen to my friend,’” the boy told WPRI. While Anthony added: “We saw the dogs, they were panicking and barking, and it was so loud!”
Watch the moment here: