Edgar is a Treeing Walker Coonhound who spent most of his life on the streets and was labeled “unadoptable” by a shelter in West Virginia. After the 4-year-old dog ended up at a local Humane Society shelter near Waynesboro, PA, it wasn’t clear things would get any better for him.

While she didn’t want a dog, Melissa Lambert often took her 3 daughters – all between the ages of 3 and 8 – to play with the pups at the shelter.

And it turns out she was the one who was first drawn to Edgar. The family ended up adopting him in early 2019.

And while Edgar is a very laid back dog, one night he went berserk in a fit of rage.

“It was like a growl howl with that mixed at the same time,” Thom Lambert told FOX43. “It was obvious he was really upset and as soon as I got him to quit barking, I heard sounds of someone going down the stairs.”

The family had returned after midnight on April 28th from an out-of-town funeral and had all just tucked into bed. But while the humans slept, Edgar heard danger.

That danger was 20-year-old Thomas Dewald.

When Lambert went downstairs to check on his home, he found that the kitchen window and door were open. He immediately grabbed two kitchen knives and bolted upstairs to check on his three daughters, who were safe and sound. Then he called 911.

Lambert knew everything was locked before the family went to bed because they had heard about the abduction of young Gemma Moats nearby a few nights prior.

But it wasn’t until Dewald was caught casing neighborhoods on April 29th and taken into custody that the Lamberts knew what had almost happened.

Dewald had kidnapped 4-year-old Moats on April 25th and locked her in a wooden box in his grandparents’ home. Luckily, she escaped. But Lambert had been on the prowl for another victim.

During questioning, Dewald admitted to breaking into the Lambert’s home on April 28th with the intent of kidnapping one of their daughters. He said it was the dog who scared him away. Those were the footsteps Thom Lambert heard after Edgar calmed down.

Trooper Megan Frazer told PEOPLE: “The dog is a hero.”

“Without Edgar, genuinely, who knows where our daughters would be right now,” Thom Lambert told Fox 43 News. “Our family was one hundred percent rescued by our dog that we rescued.”

But cops had a hard time believing the Edgar saved the day at first. Once his work was over, the dog was asleep on the floor, unconcerned with the commotion and the police helping to check the house.

“Edgar was just there on the floor sleeping while the cops were clearing the house with their guns drawn,” Thom Lambert told Pennlive. “And the cops are like, so this is the dog that you’re saying went nuts?”

In retrospect, Lambert recalled Edgar barking on just one other occassion – the night Gemma Moats was abducted. Later, the family found out that Dewald had in fact been in their yard that night before choosing Moats’ home instead.

He even told the police that he wasn’t originally deterred by the presence of a dog the night he went into their home, but once he heard the rage in Edgar’s bark, he knew it wouldn’t be worth the risk.

The thought of it all still makes the Lamberts’ blood run cold.

The only point of levity in the situation is just what an unlikely hero Edgar is. He’s goofy, he’s lazy, he wouldn’t even bat an eye one day when a mouse ran across the floor of their old farmhouse. He’s anything but a guard dog.

“He’s just the biggest goofball ever,” Lambert told FOX43. “I was like, of course it would be this huge, like, dumb-dumb, pain in the butt that would save our children’s lives.”

The family can’t help but think Edgar’s adoption was “meant to be.”

According to Fox 43 News, Dewald will face charges including kidnapping, criminal attempt kidnapping, burglary, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, criminal trespass, and indecent assault.

Be sure to scroll down below to see the news story about Edgar’s heroics.

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Source: FOX43 News, People, Pennlive.com