OKLAHOMA CITY (UPI) -- An Oklahoma family is hailing their St. Bernard as a hero after the canine's acute sense of smell alerted them to natural gas.

Jack Damrill of Oklahoma City said he and his family were sleeping recently when the 160-pound dog, Doree, alerted them that something was amiss.

"Probably about 2 o'clock in the morning Doree started whining, or had been whining, for a little while," Damrill told KOCO-TV. Kind of pacing around the bed.

Damrill, who works as public information officer for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, said Doree refused to settle down.

"She continued to whine a little bit. The cats were meowing at the same time," he said. Looking back on it, I remember the cats meowing very loud.

He said the insistent animals eventually led him to notice the smell of natural gas. Damrill said a burner on the kitchen stove had been left on low.

Firefighters were called to air out the home.

"The firefighters were talking, and they said, 'Well, the worst-case scenario is your house could have been ended up in match boxes across the street.' Which means, it would have blown up," Damrill said.

He credited Doree with saving his family.

"I think we're going to buy a big old steak for her because she likes food, and I think she deserved a steak tonight, no doubt about it," Damrill said.

Copyright 2015 by United Press International