It’s the stuff that nightmares are made of.

You’re asleep and the dog growls and barks in the darkened home.

You investigate to find an intruder in your house.

This story ended happily for a couple in Mililani, thanks to their beloved dog.

Koa and Mary — and Eve, the dog they rescued as a five-month-old puppy, are an even closer-knit family after a frightening Thursday night. We’re not using their last name, to help protect their privacy.

They heard Eve growling and barking. They found the lanai door open but assumed they’d forgotten to lock it. They assured Eve all was well and returned to bed.

Eve was having none of it.

Mary said, “Then she kept barking, and kept growling and we’re like OK, something’s wrong.”

Her husband Koa, again went to check it out. “And then I heard noises coming from the kitchen, um, so, I told my wife to stay in the bedroom, went to the kitchen, turned the lights on, kind of looked through the rest of the house. And then I noticed that there was someone hiding under some towels that we had left for laundry. And from that point I basically asked him, very loudly, what he was doing here, what he was doing in my house. And then, I realized that I couldn’t really see if he had anything on him, so I kind of calmed my tone down, was a lot more, I guess trying to de-escalate the situation. And then that’s when I told my wife, you know, once I actually physically got him up and started talking to him, to call 9-1-1.”

Koa credits his U.S. Army training for his response to the situation. He’s grateful to HPD, whose officers arrived within five minutes — to arrest the 23 year-old male suspect.

Koa and Mary are also very grateful to Eve. They had joked she would greet a burglar with a friendly tongue, but say now she saved their lives.

Koa said, “She’s gonna get a big ol’ steak for dinner.”

They hope this never happens to anyone else, but if it does, Koa and Mary recommend that families come up with a plan, so they can be prepared.