Forbidden dog comes to aid of owner in Dover-Foxcroft fire

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Family members credited a dog for saving the life of a local man who escaped unharmed Thursday when fire erupted at the Route 15 house he occupied.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office was called to investigate the cause of the fire that destroyed the 21/2-story farmhouse owned by Chase Manhattan Bank. The bank became the owner of the property during a foreclosure sale in October.

Although former owner Roy Gray had been evicted from the property by court action on Jan. 9, he was still living there when the fire erupted. He managed to escape the fire with Jake, his pet German shepherd. Firefighters also saved a cat, but four others were believed to have perished in the fire.

Gray had pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals earlier this week and was ordered by the court not to possess any horses, cats or dogs.

According to Beth Foster, Gray’s stepdaughter, the dog alerted the man to the fire. “The fire was a couple feet away from my stepfather and Jake tried to wake him,” Foster said Thursday. She is hoping the public will help her recognize the dog’s heroic efforts with a plaque.

She also is looking for a good home for the dog. She can be reached at 564-7517.

The fire, which started in the front part of the farmhouse, spread quickly throughout the building. When sounding the tone to notify Dover-Foxcroft firefighters of the blaze at about 12:30 a.m., a local police dispatcher advised that fire was coming out all sides of the building, according to Dover-Foxcroft Fire Chief Joe Guyotte.

Guyotte, whose department received mutual aid from Corinna, Dexter, Monson, Guilford, Sangerville, Brownville, Milo, Corinth and Charleston fire departments, said the quick response helped save a large barn on the property. Cambridge firefighters remained on standby at the Guilford Fire Station.

“We had a hell of a crew and they worked hard. Mutual aid does work,” Guyotte said. He said the minus-10-degree weather made it difficult to fight the blaze. Firefighters had to contend with frozen hoses and pumpers, he said.

They returned to the scene Thursday afternoon to extinguish a flare-up.

Guyotte said he didn’t know whether the building was insured.