PHOTO: Annette Shanahan
Speaking to ABC News, Annette Shanahan said she had gotten up around 1 am because she thought she was having a heart attack.
“You’re so fuzzy you can’t make a reasonable thought. So I had gotten up and gotten to the chair in the bedroom and I thought I was going to die. I wasn’t in the presence of mind to even tell my husband.”
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Her husband, Kevin, said he would have slept through it if it weren’t for the family cat, Gracie. He heard loud noises and when he woke up, he realised he wasn't feeling well either.
”All of the sudden Gracie, I heard she was pounding, knocking, knocking, knocking at the door,” he told local news channel WREG.
“And so I got out of bed and to stop her from pounding at the door, and I looked to my left and Annette was there in the chair.”
The couple said they knew something was wrong because Gracie usually doesn't try to get into the bedroom.
Unable to breathe, they were barely able to call 911. Once the energy company and emergency responders arrived, they discovered lethal amounts of carbon monoxide upstairs. This was attributed to a water heater malfunction.
The family has replaced their outdated 15-year-old detector with four new ones. They’re also extremely thankful that Gracie alerted them to the potentially fatal situation.
"We were definitely saved by Gracie", said Annette.
This story originally appeared on ABC News
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