Firefighters save puppy with pet oxygen mask

Shortly after Rocky Mount firefighters arrived at the scene of a house fire just after 1 p.m. Friday at 741 Burton Street, they made a heartbreaking discovery.

Inside the house filled with thick smoke and intense heat, they found the bodies of three puppies and a female dog.

“When they first found the puppies, the garage was still on fire,” said Rocky Mount Fire Battalion Chief Keith McGee. “It was fully involved, and the fire had went up into the attic. There was heavy heat and smoke damage inside the house.”

Fire crews from Stations No. 1, 2 and 6 worked quickly to extinguish the blaze.

“Once we got the fire under control, we went in to get the puppies – and one of them was moving,” McGee said.

Firefighters removed the puppy from the residence, and it was wet down to cool its body temperature and placed on oxygen with a pet oxygen mask donated to the fire department by a local group, Friends of Rocky Mount Animals. The puppy began to respond to the resuscitation efforts.

“When he was first brought out, he was virtually lifeless – showing only a small amount of movement,” McGee said. “And then within about 10 minutes, he began to move around a great deal – trying to wriggle away, out of the oxygen mask – and he began to whine and try to bark.”

The puppy was taken to a local veterinary hospital where it was placed in an oxygen tent and is expected to make a full recovery, fire officials said.

Laura Gearhart, director of Friends of Rocky Mount Animals, said she had hoped the two pet resuscitation kits the group donated to the department would never have to be put to use.

“What I told (Rocky Mount Fire Chief Keith Harris) when he told me about it was, 'I wish you had never had to use them – I wish they would just sit on a shelf,’” she said. “But I’m very glad that when the case arose, they had the equipment on hand to use.”

After receiving the kits, the fire department held some training sessions on basic first aid and resuscitation measures for pets with Dr. Bob Cameron of Riverside Veterinary Hospital, Harris said.

“We recognize that in many cases, pets are truly a member of the family,” he said. “While it’s tragic that all the puppies did not survive, it’s very rewarding for the firefighters to have saved that puppy.

“We’re very appreciative to the Friends of Rocky Mount Animals for donating this equipment to us.”