Steinbach pet recognized for life-saving actions

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This article was published 03/09/2023 (535 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fuzzy Steinbach resident wagged his way into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame for his heroic acts in a house fire.

Five-year-old Billee, a Sheltie owned by Jim and Marlene Reimer, jumped into action on the night of July 6, 2022, when a fire started outside of the Reimer’s historical home. He began barking, waking up Marlene.

“He was barking in such a way that Marlene thought there was something wrong. I wasn’t waking, I sleep like a rock,” Jim said. “I woke up… and it’s just this glow behind the curtains and my stomach just turned into a knot.”

Jim explained that he finally woke when Marlene yelled, “Jim, your truck is on fire!”

Billee’s barking woke the Reimers up in time to evacuate their 110-year-old home before flames fueled by roughly 30 gallons of gas reached their bedroom.

Because the fire started outside, smoke from the blaze would not have set smoke detectors off to wake the couple in time, so Jim attributes their escape to Billee’s barking.

“Had we slept until the smoke alarm would have been triggered, that would have been a point where the fire would have already broken through out master bedroom window,” Jim said. It would have been a totally different story.”

Jim added that leaving when they did prevented additional emotional trauma for him and his wife down the road. He explained that other survivors of fires experience sleepless nights from fleeing their smoke-filled homes. The Reimers were able to grab Billee and leave the house before any smoke got inside.

“The early warning gave us a chance to avoid all of those risks and we don’t know what the outcome would have been,” said Jim.

The experience did seem to traumatize Billee, Jim noted. Last fall the couple took him camping, like they have multiple times before the fire, but Billee seemed uneasy around the campfire.

“The crackling of the wood in the fire, all of a sudden I could see there was nervousness with him because it just sort of brought back something to him that was devastating,” said Jim.

Jim and Marlene have since rebuilt after the fire took their home, and moved into the new building a month ago. They also recently received the news of Billee’s induction into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame.

After the fire, the Reimers’ daughter took care of Billee until they had a place for him to stay again. In that time, she wanted to find a way for Billee to be recognized and honoured and sent an application to Purina.

Upon his induction, Billee received a certificate and medal as well as treats, toys and accessories for his life-saving actions.

“He’s a lot more humble than I am,” Jim said, describing Billee’s reaction to being inducted. “He loves the treats. It was very special for us, but he takes it all in stride.”

Billee is second animal to be inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame this year. Since its start in 1968, a total of 191 animals have been inducted, including 163 dogs, 27 cats and one horse. Nine animals are from Manitoba.