Arlington, TX – Firefighters brought a border collie named Leah back from the brink of death with a special pet oxygen mask. The dog rescue was caught on tape after a tragic house fire in Arlington on Sunday. Firefighters used five bottles of oxygen administered through a mask specifically designed to aid common household pets.
The Texas fire department carries the pet oxygen masks on their engines as they rush to fires around the city. The father of the homeowners spotted flames shooting from the house when he went to feed the resident’s cat and the now famous border collie, the New York Daily News reports.
As some of the dedicated first responders focused on containing the roaring blaze, a second team of firefighters bravely ventured inside the home is search of the resident’s beloved pets. The fire crew found Leah unresponsive on the bathroom floor. A firefighter carried what seemed to be a lifeless border collie in his arms out onto the lawn.
Arlington Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kevin Seeton had this to say about the dog injured in the house fire during an NBC affiliate interview:
“She wasn’t moving and she wasn’t breathing. It’s a great feeling to see these big, burly firefighters all gathered around, working on a small dog, trying to get it back to life. She perked up, moved around, and came back to life. We are in the business of saving peoples’ things. Even if they lose everything else, saving these pets can really make their day.”
The specially formed pet oxygen mask was placed on Leah and firefighters administered treatment in much the same way as is done with humans. Unfortunately, the cat did not make it out of the fire.
