The dog Otiz saved the lives of 100 animals

One night in early October, a large fire broke out in a team farm in Granbergsdal.
German Shepherd Otiz was the only one to notice the flames and immediately reacted by alerting his owners.
Now Spårmarkens Otiz has been named the 2024 Bragdhund of the Year after saving over a hundred animals from being burnt to death on the dairy farm.
– If a few more minutes had passed, we would not have been able to save what has now been saved, says Kristin Söderberg about Otiz’s heroic effort in Efter fem.

Irene Södergren and daughter Kristin run the dairy farm and were sleeping when the barn suddenly caught fire that October night. Otiz, seeing the flames growing, became worried and started pacing back and forth between the bedroom and the kitchen.

– He probably went on like that for a quarter of an hour. He was very worried, and I tried to get him to go to bed, says Irene.

Couldn’t get all the animals out

Despite his owner’s attempts to calm him down, Otiz did not give up. Suddenly he lay down close to her, his nose against her face, and snorted. Then she heard the sparks outside and understood that something was wrong.

– I pulled back the curtain and saw the fire, then it was just a matter of raising the alarm, she says.

In the barn there were over 100 animals – cows, heifers and calves – which would have been burned if Otiz had not warned his mother in time. The fire never had time to spread to the larger barn, which saved all the dairy cows. But unfortunately not all animals could be saved.

– There were some animals that turned around, into the barn, and ate, says Irene.

“Got a nice bone of meat”

On December 14, Otiz will be honored for his efforts. The award is presented at the Stockholm Dog Fair, where Otiz also gets to choose an organization to donate the prize money to.

– We think that is a nice thank you for the fact that it still went as well as it did. In this tragic situation that happened, we still got as many animals out as we got, emphasizes Kristin.

About half the facility burned down, but Irene and Kristin Södergren can continue their business thanks to Otiz.

– We are incredibly grateful. He’s got a nice leg of meat – but I’ve saved a little on that, admits Irene.