A dog rescued from a house fire in California was found limp and unconscious under a table, and it took firefighters five minutes on an oxygen mask to bring him round.
Milo, a 6-year-old Sheltie, was the only one home when crews from the Pasadena, Arcadia and Sierra Madre fire departments answered the call on Sept. 9, after a 911 caller reported hearing a dog barking inside.
Sierra Madre firefighter Jessica Johnson went in and found him hiding underneath a table in thick black smoke.
“I barely could see him. I just kind of picked him up, brought him outside, and realized you could feel how limp he was,” Jessica told ABC7 Los Angeles.
She has a dog of her own, and she said the rescue was an emotional one.
Outside, the crews fitted an oxygen mask and worked on Milo for about five minutes before he came round. Pasadena firefighters say he had been inside for at least eight minutes, and that any longer would have changed the outcome.
Milo met those firefighters again on the morning of Sept. 14, five days after the fire, with his owner Leticia alongside him.
“I’m forever, forever grateful. They’re truly heroes,” Leticia said.
The Pasadena Fire Department used the reunion to make a practical point, asking pet owners to put a sign near the front door listing how many animals are inside, so crews know what they are looking for.
Milo has a slight cough and a check-up booked with his vet, and he is already back to running and playing.
