A pit bull saved a woman from a fire in her Long Island, New York home on Friday, barking to alert her as the flames began to spread from the front to the back of the house.

Jackie Bonasera said she was drying her hair in an upstairs bathroom of the home on Gabriele Drive in East Norwich when she heard the dog barking. She ran downstairs and saw the flames on the side of her garage. 

She was able to escape the house.

"I ran out of the house and my neighbors came running over, and then I thought about the dog – I'm like, 'He saved my life, I have to save his,'" Bonasera recounted.

"So I just put my robe over my face and I ran back in and I grabbed the dog and then I stood out here and I watched my house burn," she said.

Bonasera believes she would have been trapped upstairs if the dog, named Cain, hadn't alerted her to the fire.

Bonasera's daughter, Alexus Stallworth, said Cain is "the town hero."

"He's a pit bull, too," said Stallworth. "They have such bad reps, but he's such a good boy."

Stallworth was outside the house when the fire broke out and captured the blaze on her cell phone camera.

More than 70 firefighters were needed to stop the fire. Although the cause of the blaze has not been determined and the arson squad is investigating, police don't believe it's suspicious.

The homeowner is a contractor who is working on several homes that were damaged by Sandy, and he said he now hopes he can get his own home fixed before winter.

NBC New York's Greg Cergol and Jeff Richardson contributed to this story.

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Police are on the lookout for a pair of pit bulls that mauled a teen and three women in separate attacks within half an hour on Long Island.

The attacks were all within a five-block area in Lakeview, in New York's Nassau County.

Nassau County police say the dogs, one black and one brown, first bit a 16-year-old boy on his left arm at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday near Parkside Road and Cedar Road. 

Ten minutes later, a 54-year-old woman was also bitten on the left arm as she walked on Pinebrook Avenue near Parkside Road.

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Ten minutes after that, the dogs attacked a 24-year-old woman on Pinebrook Avenue near Tyler Road. She was injured on her left leg and right arm.

And about 10 minutes later, 29-year-old Kashina Sylvester was attacked by the dogs and suffered injuries to her face, shoulder and both arms on Clinton Ave.

Sylvester had just gotten out of her car when the dogs went after her.

"They were biting at my jacket at first," she said. "Then one chomped down on my thigh and I went down and ended up being bitten in the head and thighs and up and down the arms."

Sylvester screamed as she tried to get back in her car.

"I kicked them, I punched one of them across the head," she said. Sylvester stuck her hand into the mouth of the other dog, which had clamped onto her head, to force it to let go of her. 

After Sylvester cried and honked her horn, neighbor Justin Williams found her and called 911 for help.

"I feel like someone's run me across a cheese grater," Sylvester said Wednesday. 

Hempstead's Animal Care and Control officers are conducting a grid search looking for the dogs, knocking on doors and driving around.

"We're hoping that they're home at this point," said Cindy Iacopella of Hempstead Animal Control. "It's likely that the owners of these dogs don't even know that this occurred." 

Bearing a sling on her arm, bite marks on her head and leg, Sylvester had a message for the dog owners: "If you can't control your dog, you don't deserve to have them." 

Flagler County Sheriff's Office

James R. Irvine, 41, was arrested Saturday and faces one charge of child neglect for allegedly leaving his pit bull to watch a 10-month-old baby.

A Palm Coast, Fla., man has been arrested on suspicion he had his pit bull watch a 10-month-old baby while he went out to drink beer, authorities say.

James R. Irvine, 41, was arrested Saturday and faces one charge of child neglect, according to online jail records. He was held on $1,500 bond.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies said Irvine's girlfriend left him in charge of her child while she was away at work. After not answering several of her calls that evening, Irvine eventually picked up and said, "I'm watching the game," according to an arrest form.

The woman said she found Irvine trying to get into the house and that he was urinating on himself, according to the report.

He admitted to his girlfriend that he had been having a few drinks, but told her the baby wasn't alone because their pet pit bull was watching it, deputies said.

A bar employee verified that she had served him five Coronas and one Bud Light.

The baby was found crying inside a room with the door shut and the pit bull was sitting outside of it, the report said.

A 3-month-old baby boy died Monday night after being mauled by the family's pit bull.

Burleson, Texas, police say officers responded to a 911 hang-up call at about 6:45 p.m. When they arrived, they reported a family disturbance.

After about an hour on the scene, officers were outside of the home talking with family members. One of those family members was holding 3-month-old Rayden Bruce, who had fallen asleep.

The child was taken inside and placed on a bed, where, apparently, the dog attacked.

A few moments later, officers heard screams coming from inside the home followed by a man running outside and carrying the little boy.

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The child was rushed to Cook Children’s Hospital in critical condition. After arriving at the hospital, the infant was pronounced dead.

The dog was quarantined and euthanized by Burleson Animal Control.

NBC 5's Ben Russell and Christina Miralla contributed to this report.

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Two San Francisco Bay Area toddlers were mauled by family pit bulls less than 24 hours apart, officials said Tuesday.

Both victims, one from Castro Valley and one Concord, were reported recovering in Oakland Children’s Hospital, television station KTVU reported. Neither child was identified.

The hospital would not disclose any information about the victims.

The dog in the Concord attack on Monday was euthanized, officials said.

The Castro Valley incident occurred about 2 a.m. Tuesday. Alameda Sheriff’s Department Sgt. J.D. Nelson told KTVU that a pit bull-German shepherd mix was in custody of animal control, KTVU reported.

Nelson called the youngster’s injuries worse than those suffered by the 2-year-old Concord girl on Monday.

The Concord toddler was stable but faces a lengthy recovery, KTVU said.

The dog bit her on the head, face and leg, according to animal control. She was treated at the scene and then airlifted to the hospital.

The euthanized dog’s tissues were being tested for rabies, officials said.

Contra Costa Animal Services Lt. Joe De Costa told KTVU officials were investigating whether the Concord family had any knowledge of the dog's having a history of aggression.

If so, family members could face criminal charges, De Costa said. "At this point, it doesn't appear that that is the case," he added.

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A Staten Island, N.Y., dog took a bullet for his owner and lived to wag his tail.

Kilo the pit bull was shot in the head as he tried to protect his owner from a would-be home invader posing as a FedEx deliveryman over the weekend, according to The New York Post.

The bullet ricocheted off his skull and exited through his neck, which is likely what gave him a chance to survive.

“This is like, one in a million,” Dr. Greg Panarello, whose veterinary clinic operated on Kilo, told The Post. “He’s very lucky.”

The pup's shooting happened when an intruder tried to push his way into Justin Becker's home in Graniteville, claiming he had a package to deliver, early Saturday evening, the Post reported.

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The 32-year-old Becker pushed the armed intruder to the ground, but the suspect's body was already halfway inside the apartment. Kilo stuck his head out the door and the suspect pulled the trigger.

Then he ran off, leaving Becker to cradle his wounded 12-year-old pup in his arms. Becker told the Post his girlfriend thought for sure the dog would die, but Becker said he wasn't giving up on his old friend.

Becker took Kilo to South Shore Animal Hospital, where veterinarians operated on the animal. X-rays indicated the bullet never entered Kilo's skull and it appeared the pooch suffered no brain damage, reports the Post.

Kilo was able to return home to continue his recovery process. 

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