Video: Firefighter Rescues Unconscious Dog—See His Fire Cam Footage!

For Immediate Release:
March 30, 2017

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

What does it take to save a dog’s life? A new PETA video features exclusive point-of-view body camera footage from a Virginia firefighter and shows him searching through a burnt home until he finds a dog named Roxy lying unconscious behind a sofa. He immediately scoops her up and takes her outside, where the rest of the team helps resuscitate her with oxygen masks.

“It felt good. It did. I’m a grown man—I’ll admit it, it made me want to cry,” firefighter Paul McNeely says in the video. “Any animal that’s in a house with a family relies on the family to take care of [him or her], and [Roxy] was helpless.”

Thanks to the fire department’s efforts, Roxy—along with her “sister,” Daisy—was safely evacuated from the home and examined by a veterinarian. They continue to recover. A few days after their rescue, PETA presented Abingdon Volunteer Fire & Rescue with a Compassionate Fire Department Award—and the video shows the firefighters reunited with the dogs.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—encourages all animal guardians to put a sign on their doors or windows to alert rescue workers to the presence of dogs, cats, and other companion animals. Families can order stickers from the PETA Catalog or make their own.

More information about the rescue is available on PETA’s blog.