NORTHVALE — Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and in one Bergen County town, a furry, four-legged pet might have saved the life of its owner last week.

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According to the Northvale Police Department, a barking dog inside a home managed to get the attention of two women walking down the street by breaking glass. Police say the incident took place Saturday at 7:55 p.m. when two women were out for a walk. The women reported hearing a glass break inside a home followed by a dog barking loudly. They called Northvale police who responded to the home.

When police officers Reginald Parsells and Robert Devore arrived, they noticed a broken pane of glass near the front door of the home, and saw the dog inside. The officers tried calling out to the resident, with no response. They forced entry into the house and found a resident who police say suffered an "unknown medical event" and may have been ill for a long period of time before being discovered.

Police contacted local emergency medical crews, who transported the resident to a hospital. According to Police Chief William Essmann, the individual remains in the hospital and is in intensive care. The chief did not have any additional information about the resident Monday.

Police say the dog suffered a minor injury to it's front paw, which was the result of breaking the window pane.

"We believe that the dog inside the home heard the two women talking as they walked past the home and broke the glass with its paws in an attempt to get their attention, which led to their owner being rescued," Essmann said in a statement, referring to the dog as a "Hero Resident K9" who saved the life of its owner.

The chief also credits the two women who contacted police after hearing the breaking glass and barking dog.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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