They had no owner to protect them from the smoke. Two dogs trapped inside a burning house in Laveen, Phoenix, on the night of September 20.
When firefighters pulled them out, neither was breathing properly. They did not use ordinary masks: they brought out the “Fido bags”, equipment specifically designed to seal dogs’ and cats’ muzzles, because oxygen masks for humans are no use to them. They knelt in the street, held the animals in their arms, and waited for the little dogs to start moving again.
It worked. Both dogs were resuscitated on the scene and taken to a veterinary hospital to continue their recovery. No one else was inside the home, so there were no human injuries to mourn. Four people were displaced, but that night, for the Phoenix Fire Department, no life mattered less than another.
