A four-year-old husky detected a gas leak in a Philadelphia neighborhood, potentially preventing an explosion

Many utility companies add Mercaptan, a sulfur-containing compound, to natural gas to give it the smell of rotten eggs

That strong smell can alert customers to potential gas leaks

Dogs – with a sense of smell thousands of times more acute than humans’ – are particularly good at picking up the scent, and some utility companies train dogs for that specific purpose

Just before Christmas, a Philadelphia resident noticed that her dog, Kobe, was digging in her front yard in a hole under the sidewalk’s concrete

“This is not like him,” the owner, Chanell Bell, narrated in an Instagram post

Because Bell had a gas leak in her home the week prior and issues with her heater, she decided to investigate if something was amiss

She bought a gas level reader and scoured her house with it, but found no trace of a gas leak

On December 21, Bell noticed that her dog was again digging in her front yard

She brought the gas level reader to the hole and instantly got a strong recording indicating a major gas leak

She alerted her utility company, which over the next three days sent repairmen to fix a major leak

Workers reportedly told Bell that the gas leak was so severe, even turning on a light could have caused a massive explosion

“[It] was really, really mind-blowing,” Bell said, adding, “I’m so thankful – thankful for God, thankful for my baby boy [Kobe]”

In a statement, Bell’s utility company acknowledged the leak and said it adds Mercaptan to its gas for the precise reason that leaks can be detected

Bell’s video of the encounter, posted on Instagram, has gone viral over the past several days

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