Hero Pet Pig Credited with Saving Veteran Owner from New Jersey Apartment Fire

Christopher Sadowski

Meet the hulking hero who saved his owner from a fire!

According to the New York Post, a 500-pound pet pig named Hamilton helped his owner 30-year-old Gilbert Anaya escape a New Jersey apartment fire on April 11.

The outlet added that Hamilton assisted Anaya by giving the pet parent extra time to escape. The pig closed a door in the garage as the fire intensified, slowing the blaze's spread.

"The fire department said him closing the door bought me 15 to 20 minutes," Anaya, a U.S. Navy veteran, told the New York Post, adding, "If he didn't close the door, the fire and smoke would have spread faster."

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News 12 Bronx reported that Hamilton, who has lived with Anaya for six years, is trained to close doors.

"He probably saw the fire and thought panic and fear and just ran out, but he was trained to open and close doors, so when he came out, he must have just instinctively spun around and closed it," Anaya told News 12 Bronx.

Christopher Sadowski

Anaya said the fire woke him up. Once he realized what was happening, the pig owner said he started to worry about the pig and went to find him. The search ended in relief when Anaya found that the pig escaped the blaze on his own and protected his owner in the process.

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Thankfully, both Anaya and Hamilton escaped the apartment complex fire unharmed, but their home was destroyed in the blaze. The veteran and his beloved pig are staying with a friend for the time being.

The Township of Union Fire Department, which responded to the blaze, didn't immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.