A Wisconsin family whose home was partially destroyed by an overnight fire credits their pet dog, Taz, with saving their lives.

The three-year-old Toy Fox Terrier began barking nonstop just after midnight Tuesday when a fire was sparked in the garage of the Cull family's home in Jackson, Wisc.

"He barks a lot at little stuff too but he kept going because obviously he knew something was a little different this time," Zack Cull, 16, told local ABC affiliate WISN.

Cull was inside the home, along with his parents, an aunt and his younger brother, when the fire broke out. The home's smoke detectors did not have batteries installed so it was only the sound of Taz's barking that allowed them to all escape unharmed.

"You hear about it all the time, a dog saving people's lives or dragging them out of burning buildings," the family's oldest son, Jake, who was not at the home at the time, told WISN. "He couldn't drag anyone out but he let everyone know something was up."

Fire officials who responded to the blaze were able to contain it mostly to the home's garage, which was deemed a total loss.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze, according to WISN.