RYAN was the hero after alerting his owners to a fire in a thatched house.

German Shepherd dog Ryan, three, smelt smoke and woke teacher Susi Isaac, 27, by barking and nudging her arm. She found an overheating towel rail in the bathroom had caused a synthetic carpet to smoulder.

Mrs Isaac woke parents Jim and Jean Nicholl, and her children, nine, and Sam seven, before turning off the power and making sure the fire was out, in the week of November 29, 1991.

Susi said: "It would have combusted into flames within half-an-hour if Ryan hadn't woken me up - or we could have become overcome by flames.

"With all the exposed beams in this half-timbered house, the flames could have taken hold very quickly and with five people asleep, it could have turned into a fatal fire."

Ryan got extra-special fuss and a lot of biscuits, and Susi added: "German Shepherds get a bad press. But they are there to protect people, and that is just what Ryan did. Their noses are 200 times more sensitive than ours."