A family is expressing immense gratitude after their beloved dog, Pearl, was rescued from a devastating house fire on October 26. Though the fire left their home uninhabitable, they are relieved to have their best friend back in their arms.
Nate Meidl and his partner Katie Faragher were running errands when they received an alarming call from a neighbor. “They said there’s smoke coming from your home,” Meidl recalled. Rushing back to their property, they arrived to find a scene of chaos, with over a dozen first responder vehicles surrounding their home. To their relief, Pearl was alive but struggling, receiving emergency treatment from M Health Fairview EMS.
Steven Greenhow, a member of the EMS team, was administering oxygen to Pearl, but the equipment wasn’t adequate for the task. In a quick-thinking moment, Washington County Sheriff Deputies Alec Zachrison and Greg Reiter improvised, using a McDonald’s cup to create a makeshift oxygen mask for the dog. “We heard something about a cup,” Zachrison said. “We might have a cup in our squad.”
The rescue operation also saw the involvement of Tim O’Neill from Scandia Fire and Rescue, who bravely emerged from the house carrying the family’s cat, Behr. Unfortunately, it was too late to save the cat, but Pearl was given a fighting chance. Meidl expressed his gratitude, saying, “Tim came out with our kitty cat, like just bursting through the front door… But we have Pearly.”
Faragher reflected on the heroic efforts of the first responders, emphasizing the importance of recognizing their daily sacrifices. “The biggest thing I want to come out of this is just to let the public know how hard our first responders work, and to make sure they get recognized for the heroism they do every day,” she said. “Every single day they help people and change lives.”
As Pearl joyously ran around the EMS area, surrounded by the agencies that had come together to save her, O’Neill, a seasoned first responder, shared the profound satisfaction that came with this particular rescue: “We see a lot of bad stuff being first responders… and to get just this little bit of good, I guess that’s the reason you know that we do it.”
This heartwarming reunion is a reminder of the invaluable role first responders play in saving lives — both human and animal alike.
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