Saundra Wilson

The Republic | azcentral.com

A 14-year-old north Phoenix boy jumped off a school bus when he saw smoke coming from his house Friday morning and ran home to open the back door so his dog could escape, according to the Phoenix Fire Department.

Fire crews later doused the blaze at the house in the 20000 block of North 17th Drive, Capt. Aaron Ernsberger said.

The dog, a pit bull mix named Zach, was safe, but the house had extensive damage.

Cheyenne Shelton, 17, said she saw the rescue from her house next door.

"I'm so happy that dog got out," Shelton said. "That boy was very brave, and he did all the right things, too."

Shelton said she smelled smoke around 7:20 a.m. while her family was getting ready for the day. Her mother went outside to investigate after she heard yelling and found the boy trying to figure out how to rescue Zach.

"I just see all this smoke, and it was hard to breathe, and it was just total chaos," Shelton said.

Shelton said her mother, thinking Zach was a child, tried to go in the smoke-filled house, but the teenager stopped her, explaining that Zach was his dog.

After first opening the front door and being met with black smoke, he went into the back yard and opened a back door.

Once outside, "The dog wouldn't move, so he picked him up and brought him here," Shelton said, adding that the dog was visibly shaken when they arrived at her house.

Zach stayed with the Sheltons for awhile after the fire was put out and family members sifted through their belongings in the house.

A GoFundMe pageset up by a family member said very little was salvageable.

"My sister who is a competitive cheerleader lost all of her uniforms, we lost Christmas presents that had been bought, along with the irreplaceable family photos and memorabilia," the statement on GoFundMe read.

More than $1,200 had been donated as of 4:30 p.m. Friday.