Pets Helping People

The Backwards Rescue

We usually think of Dalmatians as riding to the the rescue atop a fire truck. But in this case it was the Dalmatian, a.k.a. Wyatt, that needed to be rescued.

Six year old Wyatt was left unconscious when a clothes dryer in his owner's home caught on fire. With no one home, and no way out, Wyatt was overcome by smoke. Luckily a 17-year-old neighbor, Joseph Horvath, saw the smoke and called 9-1-1. Before the fire trucks arrived, Joe used a spare set of keys to enter the house. Upon entering the smoke-filled home, he bumped into something lying on the floor, which turned out to be Wyatt. Joe quickly carried the dog out of the home, where the fresh air brought Wyatt back to life. The veterinarian later said, had the dog been exposed to the smoke much longer, he surely would not have survived. Both the dog and the rescuer are now doing fine.

Joe can't wait for his 18th birthday, because that's when he's able to join the local fire department. Seems like Joe is off to a pretty good start in his first career of fighting fires and rescuing people. Or is that rescuing fire dogs?

Excerpted with Permission:
Hunterdon County Democrat
Author: Rick Epstein
Flemington, NJ
December 5, 1996

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