Cat alerts Plant City couple to house fire: ‘She saved our lives’
PLANT CITY, Fla. - A Plant City couple is crediting a cat with saving their lives after a fire destroyed their home.
Francis and Leta Bourget were high school sweethearts. In December, they'll celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. They've been through it all, or so they thought.
"It is the worst thing that’s ever happened, we've had a lot of medical issues the last year, but nothing like this," Leta Bourget said.
Over the weekend, a fire destroyed their Plant City home and everything in it.
They say nothing seemed wrong when they went to bed Saturday night. As usual, their cat Lilly was snuggled up with them.
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"If she hadn’t made a noise and gotten out of bed. I wouldn’t have woken up," Leta Bourget explained.
Lilly alerted the couple to the fire.
Within minutes of waking up, flames and smoke started filling their home.
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Leta Bourget believes Lilly sensed something was wrong.
The couple made it out of the home safely, but Lilly died in the fire.
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The couple says community support has been overwhelming and a fundraiser has been set up for the family.
The couple made it out of the home safely, but Lilly died in the fire.
"There’s a lot of good people out here. You always hear the bad stuff. You never hear the good stuff," Leta Bourget said.
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For the Bourget's, Lilly is the ‘good stuff’. She is their four-legged friend who likely made all the difference.
"The cat, I have to say this - the cat really saved our lives. We really feel that way," she said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.