A firefighter and a paramedic were credited with saving the life of a dog who was recently pulled from a burning home in Virginia.
Fire crews responding to the blaze last Thursday first got a woman safely out of the house before bringing the dog outside, KTLA sister-station WTVR reported.
Emergency personnel believed the German Shepherd mix named “Keiser” was on the brink of the death when they found him.
“When I first saw the dog, I really thought the dog was deceased,” paramedic Bubby Bish told the television station.
He watched as Keiser was placed in front of firefighter Josh Moore, who realized the nearly 90-pound dog was in “respiratory distress,” the station reported.
The two then made a split-decision decision to try and save the dog, despite the fact that neither believed the dog would live.
“I figured being a large dog like he was, an adult mask should work for him and I could get it over his snout, hold it there and keep him going,” Moore explained to the station.
He then began administering oxygen to Keiser. At first, it didn’t appear the dog was responding. Finally, five to eight minutes after the pair began treating the dog, Keiser started to move and began wagging his tail.
Bish, who has been a paramedic for 48 years, said he had never seen anything like it. He credited Moore as being a hero.
The paramedic added that as a result of the rescue, he ordered specially designed masks for animals that would be placed in all Southside Virginia Emergency Crew’s ambulances.
Keiser was taken to an animal hospital and was released two days later.
The dog’s owner remained hospitalized with second-degree burns. While she recovered, Keiser would be taken care of by Petersburg Animal Control.