Some of the heroes have helicopters.
Heartwarming photos have shown how heroic search and rescue teams helicoptered a mother Rottweiler and her four puppies to safety after they were forced to leave behind by their desperate owners while fleeing the devastating Park Fire in Northern California.
The tough dog’s owner was evacuating a fire Wednesday when his truck got stuck, according to a post from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.
“She had to jump in with someone else and unfortunately left her dog behind,” Butte County Sheriff Corey Honea said. Mercury News.
Residents notified authorities of the location of their vehicle and the endangered animals, but initial attempts by rescuers to return to the scene were unsuccessful due to the fire.
On Saturday, Butte County Search and Rescue Officer Trevor Skaggs was finally able to get to the scene by helicopter, thanks to pilot Connor Smith.
Skaggs then ran 1.5 miles to a secluded area and miraculously found the four puppies and their mother alive and well.
Unfortunately, the puppies’ father did not survive and likely died of dehydration, Smith told the Mercury News.
“All the puppies started barking at him, like, ‘Who are you?'” Skaggs’ wife, Christina, told the outlet.
“He was able to convince his mother to drink water from his hand, and once she decided he was OK, all the puppies were like, ‘Okay, we like you,'” she said, adding that his first dog was a Rottweiler.
Skaggs sang to the dogs, gave them some granola bars and then took them to a nearby creek.
“They got excited and they ran after him, chasing him like the Pied Piper,” Christina Skaggs said.
After returning to the helicopter, Skaggs and Smith told the Mercury News they worried about keeping the puppies “contained” inside the helicopter because there was no barrier between the back seat and the cockpit.
The mother dog quickly snuggled up in the seat, but the puppies “were running around everywhere. They were on my seat, the co-pilot’s seat, under the back seat, they were all over the place,” Smith said.
It took the heroes about 10 minutes to calm the dogs down, with one napping under a seat, another on the floor, two cuddling up to Skaggs and the mother dog resting her head on the man who had rescued her.
The dogs are being treated for dehydration, spending their time at the shelter and getting plenty of playtime, and the shelter is in contact with the owner, who may be homeless, so it’s unclear whether the dogs will ever be reunited, the outlet reported.
The Park Fire became the fifth largest wildfire in California history. CAL Fire is currently As of Tuesday, more than 386,000 acres had burned.
“The last few days have been terrifying for our community and we are happy to share this incredible story with you,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
