She thought the whining puppy was one of them and coaxed him to go outside, giving him a granola bar from her pocket.
Krause began looking around the property for the other puppies when she spotted a small black dog on top of a hill between two trees.
As Krause approached, his heart sank.
“I could smell burning flesh and his little puppy pads were burned,” she said. “He had burns on his stomach and back, his tail was singed and his left eye was swollen and closed. It was heartbreaking.
Krause gently put the puppy in his truck and called Jenifer Alcorn, executive director of the South Coast Humane Society in Brookings, to talk to her about the situation. puppy. She nicknamed him Smoky. A neighbor temporarily took in the other puppy until he could be reunited with the family, she said.
“I took care of it [to the shelter] and they cleaned his eye and fixed his eye pads,” she said.
Krause was unable to locate the other two missing puppies, but later learned that the puppies were away with the family at the time of the fire.
The injured three-month-old puppy, a lab mix, would need to spend several weeks healing at the shelter. The owners of Smoky lost all their belongings in the fire at the two-story building. at home and couldn’t care for the puppy, they told her. The community has rallied to help the family through a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $10,000 so far.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and the tenants did not respond to an interview request from The Washington Post.
The family decided to keep the healthy puppy Krause found, but said they were unable to care for Smoky, Krause said.
She thought about welcoming Smoky herself, but she already had three dogs at home.
Then she thought of someone who wouldn’t be able to say no to Smoky’s sweet face.
Krause sent photos of Smoky to Corey Bryant, volunteer fire chief at Greenacres Fire & Rescue, which is in neighboring Coos County, and told him about the trauma the puppy suffered.
Bryant, 41, said he immediately wanted to adopt Smoky. He thought the dog would go well with his 6-year-old Labrador, Sadie, and that his two children would also enjoy playing with the puppy.
“I knew I had to have it,” he said. “I was so sad that he was burned and I could tell he was a lovely dog.”
Bryant’s hunch was confirmed when he went to the Humane Society shelter to meet Smoky.
“He crawled out of his little kennel with his bandages on and crawled into my lap to cuddle with me,” he said. “I knew that was it. My heart was full there.
On March 24, when a veterinarian determined that Smoky’s injuries were healing and he was no longer at risk of infection, Bryant returned to the shelter to take the puppy home. Fox 12 Oregon covered this heartwarming adoption.
“He’s off painkillers and antibiotics, and he’s doing great,” Bryant said. “He is an active little puppy who loves to play and buy cookies at the cafe.”
Bryant said he gave Smoky regular baths with medicated shampoo and applied ointment to his burns daily.
“He has a large bald spot on his back that is slowly filling in, but he is no longer in pain and is very friendly to everyone who comes to pet him,” he said.
The puppy’s cheerful personality will soon be put to good use, Bryant added, explaining that he plans to train Smoky as a fire prevention dog.
“My goal is to integrate him into fire prevention programs in schools, and I would also like to get to the point where he becomes a certified service dog,” he said. “I would love to take him to a children’s burn center and a children’s cancer center in Portland.”
In the meantime, he’s happy to take his puppy to community barbecues and he lets Smoky run the Greenacres fire station, Bryant said.
“Everyone loves him, especially me,” he said. “He’s healing quickly and he’s adapted very well, considering what he’s been through. I feel really lucky to have him.
