Tag: firefighter rescues dog

Firefighter Saves Dog’s Life Day After Her Doberman Dies of Cancer

Three years ago, Kelly Jernigan, a captain with the Winston-Salem Fire Department in North Carolina, adopted two Dobermans who’d had a rough life.

When one of them, Zion, first ventured out in his new backyard, “it’s almost like he had never seen grass before,” Jernigan told WGHP.

Sadly, Zion was later diagnosed with cancer. On Tuesday, Jernigan made the difficult decision to end her beloved 11-year-old dog’s suffering. His death had Jernigan “down all day yesterday and all day today,” she said on Wednesday.

Later that day, the fire department got a call about an apartment building on fire. As Jernigan and her fellow firefighters were making sure everyone had evacuated safely from the building, they heard barking. It was a small dog, named Cinnamon, who was alone in one of the apartments while her owner, Ann Love, was at work.

Jernigan gently lifted the frightened dog into her arms and carried her out of the building.

“Just getting her, you can tell she’s very skittish and I would be, too,” she told WGHP. “You know, somebody coming up looking like this, with helmets and gloves.”

Rescuing Cinnamon was “kind of good timing for me,” Jernigan said. “It kind of helps me heal.” She brought Cinnamon inside the cab of a fire truck and gave her water. She probably got a good, much-needed laugh when the little dog accidentally sounded the siren.

Jernigan then rigged up a makeshift leash and walked Cinnamon over to her grateful owner, who had rushed home from work when she heard about the fire.

Cinnamon jumped up into her crying dog mom’s arms. “To know that she was okay, it made my day,” Love told WGHP. “I love her.”

It made Jernigan’s day as well. “Once I got my hands on this one, it’s like all is right with the world,” she told WGHP.

Three people were displaced by the fire, WGHP reports, but fortunately no one — with two legs or four legs — was injured, thanks to the heroic efforts of Jernigan and her colleagues.

Tissue alert: WGHP captured Jernigan’s rescue of Cinnamon in this video.

Photo (not Zion): Skeeze

Thanks to Kentucky Troopers, Dachshund Rescued from Tree Trunk

It’s not that unusual for firefighters to rescue cats who become stuck in trees, but yesterday they met the challenge of freeing a Dachshund stuck inside a tree trunk in Salem, Ky.

Apparently little Rocco had managed to get inside the tree via a groundhog hole.

He’d probably still be stuck there if two off-duty Kentucky State Troopers hadn’t heard his barks as they mowed the lawn at a nearby cemetery.

Sergeant Michael Williams and Trooper Gerick Sullivan searched a wooded area until they spotted Rocco sticking his head out of his strange location. Unable to free the Doxie themselves, they called the Salem Fire Department.

Firefighter Daniel Newcomb carefully cut out part of the tree so Rocco could be removed from it and reunited with his grateful owner. The tree opening was also made larger just in case another dog ever found themselves in the same predicament.

“That’s awesome,” wrote Scott Allen Bacon in a comment on the Kentucky State Police Facebook page. “Guessing it wasn’t a…dogwood tree?”

“Never seen a tree with so much bark…?,” wrote Sophie Bourdeau.

Hats off to Williams, Sullivan and Newcomb for saving Rocco. I’m betting that little Dachshund won’t be going anywhere near another groundhog hole for a long, long time.

And speaking of dogs stuck in trees, last year rescuers saved Kora, a 120-pound Great Dane who’d managed to climb 20 feet (!) up a tree in Nebraska.

Photo via Kentucky State Police Facebook page

Hero Firefighter Brings Dead Dog Back to Life

As Andrew Klein worked with 22 other firefighters to put out a blaze in a Santa Monica, Calif., apartment Tuesday, he discovered an unconscious Bichon Frise/Shih Tzu mix.

“As soon as I grabbed him, I knew that he was unresponsive just by his dead weight,” Klein told KTLA. He carried the lifeless 10-year-old dog, named Nalu, outside.

Nalu wasn’t breathing and had no pulse, so Klein began performing CPR and mouth-to-snout resuscitation on him — for 20 minutes, until the dog was finally revived. Klein then provided Nalu with oxygen using a pet-sized mask.

Nalu’s owner, Crystal Lamirande, came home to find her apartment on fire. She tried to save Nalu herself, but the smoke was too thick. She told KTLA she stood there in shock as Klein worked to save her dog’s life. “I’m a nurse, and now I know how family members feel when they watch us do CPR on their family members,” she said. “It’s awful.”

The firefighters were able to put out the blaze in about 10 minutes, KTLA reports. No one besides Nalu was injured.

“It was pretty amazing, because I’ve been on a number of animal rescues like this that did not come out the same way that Nalu’s story did,” Klein told KTLA. He’d only performed mouth-to-snout resuscitation a few times in his career. “It was definitely a win for the whole team and the department that we got him back.”

Lamirande said she lost everything in the fire, with one important exception: her best friend Nalu, thanks to Klein’s heroic efforts. She brought Nalu to the fire station Thursday to thank him again for saving her dog’s life.

“Our goal is to save people, and sometimes we’re not able to do that despite our best efforts,” Klein told KABC. “But to have a success story just like this, even with Nalu being a dog, he’s a life and a life that matters. That was just a great morale booster for all of the guys here in our department.”

Photo via Twitter

Dog Runs from Burning House in California Wildfire and Leaps into Firefighter’s Arms

While areas of Louisiana have experienced devastating floods caused by historic amounts of rain, the severe drought here in Southern California has had a terrible impact on what one firefighter of 40 years called the worst wildfire he’d ever battled.

The so-called Blue Cut Fire, which began Tuesday in the San Bernardino Mountains, has burned more than 25,000 acres as of Thursday morning. More than 82,000 people have been evacuated, and, sadly,  hundreds of them may have no houses to return to.

One dog left behind in the West Cajon area is very lucky to be alive.

When he saw Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Mohler, the dog, who appears to possibly be a Rottweiler mix, ran to him from a burning structure and leaped into his arms, according to a post yesterday on Cal Fire San Bernardino/Inyo/Mono Unit’s Facebook page.

“Seeing that dog run out of those flames was pretty amazing,” Mohler told KCBS. “It sheltered in place until it actually saw help, but it just wanted help. It needed to get out of that area.”

The dog was treated for minor burns, given food and water, and taken to the Apple Valley Animal Shelter. Hopefully the lucky puppy will soon be reunited with his owners.

‘If People Are at Work, Their Pets Are at Home’

Although it’s not yet known why the dog was left behind, it’s likely because, according to some comments on the Cal Fire Facebook post, many residents weren’t home when the fire started.

“People are not leaving pets behind,” wrote Priscilla Jaynes. “If people are at work, their pets are at home, and sometimes you can’t get through to them in time. Once police close a road, there is no going past the blockade. I know someone who lost their dog this way. It was devastating.”

Debe Webb added a comment saying that’s exactly what happened to her. “My husband spent eight hours on the roads trying to get to Wrightwood to our pets,” she wrote. “We were both at work down the hill when the fire started. He also had to walk five miles because they would only let them get so close by car. He got all three dogs and himself out.”

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible wildfire, and the heroic firefighters who are battling it.

How to Help Animals Displaced by the Blue Cut Fire

Three shelters are currently taking in evacuated animals evacuated due to the wildfire. Dogs and cats are being taken in by the Apple Valley and Devore animal shelters. Larger animals can stay at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds, which is also serving as an American Red Cross Shelter.

For these shelters’ latest donation needs, check their Facebook pages:

You can find more shelter information and make a monetary donation by visiting the American Red Cross website.

Photo via Facebook

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