'My hero dog': Dog saves owner's life, needs new forever home

JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Johnstown man is looking for a new forever home for his dog after he said an apartment fire has left him with no choice. However, many local shelters have reached capacity and he said his dog Natara isn't just an ordinary dog.

Natara, a 1-year-old staffordshire bull terrier, loves to run around in her front yard, chase sticks and play with her owners. But her owner Nicholas said she's something special.

"I call her my hero dog," said Nicholas Dayter, Natara's owner.

Natara saved Nicholas back in June when his apartment building on 97 Clinton Street in Albany caught fire. The dog was the first to sniff out the fire.

“She started banging her head through it so when I opened the door, I seen the big gush of smoke coming through my bedroom," said Nicholas. "Natara started going to bedroom to bedroom banging her head on the door to wake everybody up."

Her insistent barking and banging on doors -- a tool, that saved Nicholas and his neighbors.

“I think without Natara I think we would’ve truthfully all died in that building," said Nicholas.

Nicholas said he was one of the residents who jumped out the window of the apartment building. When Natara came out of the fire, Nicholas said she was covered in black smoke and gagging. Nicholas used the money he got from the Red Cross to give Natara necessary medication.

But since the fire, Nicholas can no longer afford to keep her. He said he's called dozens of local shelters including the Albany County Humane Society, Fulton County Regional SPCA, and ones in Saratoga, Clifton Park, Malta, and more. They all gave him the same answer.

“They basically said they’re at the capacity that they’re not taking no more dogs and stuff like that," said Nicholas.

At the Fulton County Regional SPCA, the president said they've been full for the last decade due to a lack of space.

“We only have eight kennels so we’re pretty much full every single say of every single month," said Renee Earl, President of Fulton County Regional SPCA.

The shelter currently has 15 dogs waiting to be adopted and dozens on the waiting list.

“Unfortunately we don’t get to move up the list very quickly at all," said Renee.

This animal shelter is not alone. NEWS10 called the Capital District Humane Society who said they're also full, along with most others in the area. Renee said a lack of funding and space have been two of the biggest hurdles at her shelter. She believes the best way people can help is through fostering.

“Universally, I think it’s fostering. Fostering is huge for rescue groups and you might not be in a position to take in an animal permanently, but offering a place for a dog or a cat to stay while it’s looking for its forever home is a huge benefit," said Renee.

As for Nicholas, the trauma of the past has forced him to begin letting go of Natara -- who truly became a man's best friend.

“It hurts because I wanted to keep her for as long as I could until she got old and it’s sad because as much as I love her, I’d rather give her a good home and somewhere where she can be loved and not have to go through anything else like that again," said Nicholas.