Dog-Loving Firefighters Rescue Canines

It's no secret that firefighters from Palm Harbor Fire Rescue care about the community they serve. But, they recently proved just how much they care for canines when they went out of their way to help two pooches in Palm Harbor.

Earlier this month, the crew from  responded to a motor vehicle accident. A man was slightly injured in the crash, but refused to be taken to the hospital because he didn't want to leave his dog, an eight month-old mastiff, that was with him in the car.

Palm Harbor Firefighters Ashley White, Chris Eisenhardt and Matt Quinn wanted the injured man to go to the hospital, so they came up with a creative idea. They called their district chief and asked if they could take the puppy back to the fire station, which they hoped, would make the injured man realize his dog would be safe, and he would then agree to go to the hospital. 

The district chief okayed the rare request. The injured man was loaded in an ambulance for the trip to the hospital and his dog hopped aboard a fire truck for his trip to Fire Station 65.

"We felt it was necessary for the patient to go to the hospital to get checked out and we're all animal lovers here," said firefighter Ashley White, 28, who has two dogs and two cats of her own.

White says as a pet owner, she understood how the injured man felt. "I think I would have the same mind-set, my pets would have to be taken care of first."

The mastiff got the royal treatment during his short stay at Fire Station 65. Firefighters called the pup's owner to find out what kind of food he usually eats. They then made the pooch his favorite meal: white rice and carrots. The mastiff's owner wound up picking him up at the station later that evening.

The crew later posted a photo of themselves and the mastiff on their Facebook page. Their Facebook followers loved the photo, giving it 28 "likes" and five comments:

"Awwww..... firefighters come to the rescue once again. Thank you," gushed Carol Willi. "Great job guys way to go above and beyond," wrote Dave Sanfanandre. "Awesome!!" said Maria Johannesen. "You guys (and gal) ROCK!" wrote Mary Anne Ellis. "Great!" said D Mary Powers.

A few days later, a different crew of firefighters received a call for a dog trapped in a canal in Baywood Village. The poodle was stuck in the mud and couldn't get out because it was low tide. The sea wall was also too tall for the dog to jump over.

Firefighters rescued the dog, then took it to a local veterinarian. However, the vet could not find an implanted chip on the dog, nor was the dog wearing a tag that would identify its owners.

So, they sent out an email alert to the media that they had found a "well groomed poodle about 8 years-old" and were searching for the owner. Firefighters then sent out alerts on Facebook and Twitter, "Firefighter's find dog now looking for owner-well groomed Poodle found in canal this morning near Baywood Village," read the messages. They also notified the local community association about the dog.

A few hours later, "Jazzy" the poodle was reunited with its owner and Palm Harbor Fire Rescue thanked the media on Twitter, giving the rescue of the lost dog had a very happy ending.

"Lost dog owners found! Take care "Jazzy" and big thank you to local media for getting the word out!"