A couple of years ago, Andrea Gaylord had to make an emergency and heartbreaking decision. When she was fleeing California’s Camp Fire wildfire, she had to leave her two dogs behind. Her Paradise, California home was completely destroyed by the fire, and Andrea thought that she had lost everything, including most of her hope. However, when she returned home a month after evacuating her home, to her astonishment, she discovered that she had not lost everything. Something far more precious than a material possession was there waiting for her at the place where her home used to be: one of her beloved dogs.
Andrea had raced to escape the first that eventually killed 85 people. When she had called to her two dogs, brothers Miguel and Madison, they didn’t respond and she couldn’t find them. It broke her heart to leave without them, but Andrea had no choice. She had to leave her beloved dogs behind. She described what she felt as “the worst feeling in the world” in an interview with Today. After she left her home, her mind wouldn’t stop racing in fear of what had happened to her dogs, although she probably took some comfort in knowing that at least they were outside and not trapped inside somewhere.
She thought all hope was lost and a month after the fire, she returned home. She couldn’t return sooner because the area was shut down, but as soon as she could, she went home to search for her beloved animal companions. She got a huge glimmer of hope when an animal rescue foundation found Miguel in Citrus Heights, a nearby town. K9 Paw Print Rescue was delighted to reunite Andrea with Miguel, says a volunteer named Shayla Sullivan. At that time, Andrea was allowed to return home to her abandoned property, but she was not prepared for what she saw when she pulled up to her home.
Right there beside the rubble of her burned-down house sat Madison, her other dog. He was just waiting for Andrea to return, it seems. Andrea said she felt like a “higher power” was watching over her and her dogs. She knew at that moment that her beloved dogs were survivors. As it turns out, Shayla Sullivan played a hand in all of this. She had seen Madison in a nearby canyon and she left food and water out for him. This is what helped him to stay alive.
This sweet boy stayed to protect his home, even though there wasn’t much left of it. Watch the news video about this story below.
