Maya, an 11 month old pitbull mix, was ecstatic to reunite with her family as she showered them with kisses. Maya is the only dog out of 14 to have survived a fatal house fire in Edwardsburg, MI on Thursday morning.
When the fire broke out, a neighbor burst through the front door and pulled Maya out. At the time, she had a heartbeat but was not breathing. When Maya did finally begin breathing again, she ran off and was later found hiding under a neighbor’s boat.
Despite a raspy cough, Maya is doing quite well. The vet has warned that Maya is currently at risk of pneumonia, but is well on her way to recovery.
The other 13 dogs all died of smoke inhalation; most were either old or sick and were adopted from nearby animal shelters.
“One comfort I have is I know they didn’t suffer,” Maya’s owner, Pam, said. “I was told there were toxic fumes that rendered them unconscious first so they didn’t suffer when the smoke inhalation took them.”
Although some of the dogs had only been with the family for a short while, others like their schnauzer, Peanut, had been a part of the family for over a decade.
Peanut suffered from seizures and was going to be put down.
“I told him you don’t put people to sleep because they have seizures — why are you putting her to sleep?” Pam said. That’s when Peanut came home with Pam and her family.
The fire started around 4 p.m. when Peanut and the rest of the dogs were in the living room. Both Pam and her husband were out when the fire occurred. The fire began in the kitchen near the electric stove, but the flames never made it out of the room. The cause has not yet been determined.
Pam advised other pet owners to, “Give your dogs a hug and take care of them because you never know how long you might have them.”
