Dogs have been known as man's best friends for decades, and Matt Carcerano's 16-month-old dog, Bella, has lived up to it. Bella, a mix of poodle and Labrador retriever, saved her master life by timely waking him up and alerting him on a house fire.

Carcerano was sound asleep Monday night when Bella tried getting his attention by a mix of "growl, whimper and bark."

"It was weird. I was sound asleep and she made noises I'd never heard before," Carcerano told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Bella finally got Carcerano to open his eyes, "I opened my eyes and it was just orange."

When firefighters arrived they found a floor-to-ceiling wall heater in the 50-year-old, two-room cottage on fire.

Fire department battalion chief Mike Venezio called Bella a lifesaver as he noted that there were no smoke detectors in the cottage.

Most of Carcerano's belongings were destroyed in the fire except for a few photo albums he was able to grab.