Firefighters, medics save dogs from burning home
RAYMOND, Wash. -- Firefighters and medics are being hailed as heroes for rescuing 10 dogs from a burning house, then using CPR to bring them back to life.
The fire broke out Tuesday in the kitchen of a home, and lethal smoke quickly spread through the house. The homeowners were not home at the time, but their toy poodles were inside, near death.
Firefighters rescued the dogs, and emergency medical technicians Caitlyn Burbank and Casey Jo Clifton went to work, resuscitating as many as they could.
"We instantly hooked them up to oxygen, which has spouts in the rig, and had them all masked," Burbank said.
The EMTs initially thought they'd only be able to save a few of the dogs, but they manged to do much more -- they saved all of them. And on Thanksgiving day, they got their reward when they were reunited with the dogs they had saved.
The EMTs said they don't get much training in animal CPR, but when they saw the dogs limping and dying, they instinctively jumped into action.
"For me, it was, 'These people just lost their house. They need something to come home to,'" said Burbank.
"We thought we were going to have a not-so-successful outcome, but we had a successful one," added Clifton.
With names like Sonny, Cher, Polar Bear and Snowball, the toy poodles are looking for new homes. The owners of the dogs relinquished them since they no longer have a permanent place for them.
"They're loving, well-adjusted," said Dee Roberts of Harbor Association of Volunteers for Animals. "They just want somebody to love them. That's all."
The dogs will be spayed or neutered over the weekend, and be available for adoption Monday through the group HAVA.
The fire broke out Tuesday in the kitchen of a home, and lethal smoke quickly spread through the house. The homeowners were not home at the time, but their toy poodles were inside, near death.
Firefighters rescued the dogs, and emergency medical technicians Caitlyn Burbank and Casey Jo Clifton went to work, resuscitating as many as they could.
"We instantly hooked them up to oxygen, which has spouts in the rig, and had them all masked," Burbank said.
The EMTs initially thought they'd only be able to save a few of the dogs, but they manged to do much more -- they saved all of them. And on Thanksgiving day, they got their reward when they were reunited with the dogs they had saved.
The EMTs said they don't get much training in animal CPR, but when they saw the dogs limping and dying, they instinctively jumped into action.
"For me, it was, 'These people just lost their house. They need something to come home to,'" said Burbank.
"We thought we were going to have a not-so-successful outcome, but we had a successful one," added Clifton.
With names like Sonny, Cher, Polar Bear and Snowball, the toy poodles are looking for new homes. The owners of the dogs relinquished them since they no longer have a permanent place for them.
"They're loving, well-adjusted," said Dee Roberts of Harbor Association of Volunteers for Animals. "They just want somebody to love them. That's all."
The dogs will be spayed or neutered over the weekend, and be available for adoption Monday through the group HAVA.
Hurray for Caitlyn and Casey Jo!! Good work!!
Oh man, that is too cool! Those homeowners are never gonna find anything better to be thankful for I don't think! :)
"emergency management technicians"... thanks for the chuckle
A big "Thank you" to the EMT's, great job!!! May all the dogs find, good loving homes.
Thank you rescuers!
Â
May the pups find a good home to live in.
 @HonkeyCat May the original owners (the people who lost their home) find a good home as well, and maybe be reunited with their pets.
What a wonderful story! Â The people who saved them are absolute angels. Â Still trying to wrap my head around people who would have 10 unspayed poodles in their house. Â I think that through the tragedy, the dogs will have a chance at a very good life now.Â
@DT Hmm, there is a wild leap to the fashionable conclusion. It is pretty obvious that the dogs had a good life with their owners -- they were healthy and well socialized according to the rescue organization. Because of the wild deluge of misinformation from "animal rights" organizations (many of which hope to bring about the end of all dog ownership), you have this vague idea that something is wrong here. Not at all!  I have a friend who lived all her life in Sweden. She was shocked that people in the US spay and neuter their dogs at all. She said that, in Sweden, all the dogs are intact and they do not have the pet over population problem the US has. Why? Because owners are responsible to take care of their dogs. More and more veterinaries here are saying that spaying dogs at a very young age is NOT a bright idea because of numerous adverse consequences to their health.
Nice job! They are Emergency MEDICAL Technicians though...