Thanksgiving Tail: NJ Mom Says Anxious Dog Saved Her Son's Life

NORTH JERSEY — Ella the dog, a poodle-St. Bernard mix, is not an emotional support animal, says her owner, Beth Fitzgerald of Hoboken.

“She needs support,” Fitzgerald joked during a recent interview. She said Ella, who’s eight years old, has stomach problems and anxiety.

But this Thanksgiving, Fitzgerald, her husband, and her four adult children are thankful that Ella saved one of their lives.

Fitzgerald said that last May, she and her husband moved into an apartment in Maxwell Place in Hoboken. Three of her adult children also live in that city.

The family grew up in Montgomery, N.J., in Somerset County, but have since moved north.

In May, the family decided to travel to Boston for a ceremony for their oldest child’s graduation from graduate school.

Fitzgerald’s son Liam, 26, decided to stay behind for a day. He slept in his mom and dad’s relatively new rental in Maxwell Place that night and watched Ella, who was going to go to a sitter the next day.

But Ella started acting unusual that day.

At the same time, Liam was having headaches and didn’t feel well.

Since moving into Maxwell Place on May 1, Beth had smelled gas each day, but decided it was a slight smell and thought it disappeared when she got close to the oven. So she had dismissed it.

But when her son called and said he didn’t feel well — and Ella was acting unusual — she put it all together and knew the gas might be causing a problem.

Beth told Liam to immediately call the gas company, PSE&G, and not just the building supervisors. She also told her son to leave the apartment.

Luckily, PSE&G came and found the source of the leak. It was the oven after all. It’s since been replaced.

Fitzgerald said she’s been beating herself up a bit over leaving her son in an apartment with a gas leak. She said part of the reason she never called was that she didn’t want a big deal with fire trucks coming and the like. But she said she wanted people to learn from the incident.

“If you smell gas, don’t do what I did,” she said. “I keep thinking, what if it had been midnight [and Liam was asleep]? What if Ella didn’t act weird? Don’t hesitate. You call PSE&G immediately.”

She noted that chemicals are added to natural gas to give it an odor, so people can detect if there’s too much.

“If anything had happened to my son or my dog, I would have never been able to forgive myself,” she said.

Brian Clark, a vice president for PSE&G Gas Operations, said, “We’re so glad Beth took action and told her son to leave the house immediately and call PSE&G. She did exactly the right thing to ensure their safety, and the neighbors’ safety. If you ever smell gas, leave the area immediately.”

IF you have an emergency, you can call PSE&G at 1-800-880-PSEG (7734) or 911. You can learn more at PSEG.com/gassafety.

Meanwhile, Patch asked Ella herself for a comment on her heroic actions in May.

Ella looked away, licked her lips, then ran and hid behind her mommy.