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An alert dog saved the lives of three persons in its owner's family who fell unconscious due to gas poisoning in their home in Chengdu, capital of south-west China's Sichuan province.

Sensing danger from an open gas valve, Lingling, a German shepherd, pulled her unconscious owner Dan from the sofa and placed him near a window so that chilly winds could wake him up, a local newspaper reported today.

"I must have been awakened by the chilly wind from the hole in the door and the window by the door," Dan was quoted as saying in 'China Daily'.

"She must have realised the danger. After she failed to wake me up with her claws and, suffering from gas poisoning herself, she must have pulled me by my left sleeve and dragged me to the door inch-by-inch," he said.

Dan soon found that his wife and daughter had lost consciousness due to gas poisoning, with white foam coming out of the corners of their mouths.

He managed to seek help from a nearby factory hospital. A paramedic team rushed to his apartment and rescued his wife, daughter and Lingling.

"The aftermath would have been unimaginable if Dan had regained consciousness just a little later," said Tang Xiaodong, the doctor who treated the family.

Dan bought Lingling from a peddler at a market last July and she has proved to be a worthy addition to the family.

"A few months ago, she scared away a thief who was breaking into our home," a proud Dan said.