When Lauren Wong and her girlfriend returned to see what remained of her girlfriend’s home in Altadena, California, they were met with a scene of heartbreak.
The recent wildfires had reduced the house to ash and rubble. As the women mourned the loss, they noticed a small, silent figure in the wreckage — someone else who had lost everything.
“My girlfriend was walking up what used to be her driveway, completely hysterical,” Lauren recalled in a video for The Dodo. “She’s the one who spotted Canelo. She pulled herself together and said, ‘We need to save him.’”
Canelo, a dog with singed paws and an injured mouth, lay curled in the charred remains of the yard, too exhausted or hurt to move.
Fearing for his safety, Lauren ran down the road and flagged down a passing truck. “I told them, ‘There’s this dog that needs help,’ and without hesitation, they jumped out and came right away,” she said.
The group gently offered food, water, and a blanket, trying to make him comfortable while assessing his injuries. None dared move him at first, unsure of how badly he was hurt.
But Canelo seemed to understand they were there to help, watching them with quiet trust.
A news crew covering the wildfire spotted the rescue and began filming as the team worked. Finally, they were able to lift Canelo into the truck, and the men drove him straight to the Pasadena Humane Society.
Before long, his owner found him there. He had been searching desperately since the day of the evacuation, when Canelo — frightened by flying embers — leapt from the back of his pickup truck and vanished into the smoke.
“With all the smoke, it was impossible to find him,” Lauren said. “He’d been out there alone all that time.”
Canelo is now recovering from his burns at Pasadena Humane Society. Once he heals, he’ll finally go home to the family that’s been waiting for him.
Lauren and her girlfriend are grateful that, even in the middle of their own loss, they were able to help save another life. “This baby knew we were there to save him,” Lauren said.
To support Pasadena Humane Society’s wildfire animal rescue efforts, you can donate here. You can also help rebuild Lauren’s girlfriend’s home through their GoFundMe.
