Milo, a 6-year-old Shetland Shepherd, reunited with firefighters days after crews pulled him unconscious from a Pasadena house fire

By David Wilson
Pasadena Star-News

PASADENA, Calif. — Milo, a 6-year-old Shetland Shepherd, Monday morning, Sept. 14, greeted the firefighters who rescued him from a burning Pasadena home last week.

It was a chance to reunite under much sweeter circumstances.

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Milo sat calmly in front of the home that just days earlier was in flames and filled with smoke. He showed no signs of his life-threatening experience as he played with the homeowners Fernando and Leticia. At the sight of a blue ball, Milo spun in excitement before playing fetch on the front lawn.

Fernando made t-shirts for all the firefighters emblazoned with a picture of Milo.

“Sometimes we just take it for granted until we come up with a situation like this and we’re so grateful that they’re here, that they love what they do,” Leticia said.

The family declined to provide their last name out of concerns over privacy.

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, around 1:15 p.m. fire crews from the Pasadena, Arcadia and Sierra Madre fire departments responded to the home located on Michillinda Avenue between Sierra Madre and Foothill boulevards.

The home is in Pasadena, but on the border with the two neighboring cities. Firefighters saw smoke coming from the home and had to force entry. Milo was the only one home when crews arrived. Sierra Madre Firefighter Jessica Johnson found him hiding under a table.

Once outside crews worked to revive an unconscious Milo with an oxygen mask that went over his snout. According to first responders, Milo was up and walking about five minutes after he was rescued from the home. Leticia said Milo is on antibiotics and has another check-up this week.

“We got him about eight minutes into our operation,” Pasadena Fire Department Battalion Chief Trey Sorensen said. “I think if he’s in there any longer I don’t know if the outcome is the same.”

Arcadia Fire Department Captain Drew Pryor said the fire, which started in a back bedroom, was difficult to locate because it had burned into the floor while also sending smoke throughout the house and damaging the attic.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and the family of four remains displaced from the home.

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