Severely injured dog rescued by Philly firefighters finds happy home with rescuer
KENSINGTON - A dog gets a second lease on life, saved by some Philadelphia firefighters. The dog was severely injured, but is living her own happily ever after.
Philadelphia firefighters are used to saving lives, but on a Friday night in late June, a different kind of rescue mission was taking place at Engine 7, Ladder 10 in Kensington. Someone in the neighborhood showed up at the door, looking for help after finding a severely injured pit bull.
"He had Charlie wrapped in a towel and she was real bloody," Ladder 10 Firefighter Joe Pedrick stated.
They tried to clean her up and then rushed her to ACCT Philly for care. The dog was in such bad shape, ACCT immediately sent her to an emergency veterinary hospital.
"We really only do it in the most dire circumstances," Director of Development and Communication with ACCT Philly Sarah Barnett said. "Her carotid artery was, basically, exposed, which is something that is, obviously, very dangerous."
It looked like the eight-month-old pup was used as a bait dog. Lucky for her, she found some loyal friends who were even willing to adopt her.
"There were three or four of us, right away, felt like we couldn’t just send her off and be done with it," Pedrick explained.
But, it was Joe who decided he’d nurse the sweet girl back to health and make her part of his family, name her Charlie.
"I mean, she’s from the neighborhood. We try to do good around here, when we can. She’s one of our own," Pedrick remarked.
And, Charlie feels quite at home visiting the station. William Boub was on duty that night and was thrilled to see she’s doing so well.
"She came running over to me, smelled me a bit. Remembered who I was. Kind of cool," Boub commented. "It’s all in a good day’s work."
Barnett credited teamwork for the happily ever after story.
"Firefighters deal with emergencies every day. They don’t need to add this to their list, but they really cared and followed through and, on our end, our staff was really dedicated and cared," Barnett added.
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