Hero Dog Dies During Rescue

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

18 Oct 2006 07:30 AM

Just when you thought the days of amazing Lassie-like rescues had gone the way of black-and-white TV-this incredible story surfaces. It is the talk of our town, and if I hadn't seen the coverage myself I would have been reluctant to believe it.

A woman who lives about a 35 minutes from our home in Wisconsin is alive today because of the heroic efforts of her dog. The woman was on the news a couple of nights ago and you could barely make out what she was trying to say through her tears.

The woman, Jamie Hanson, was at home Sunday night when one of her cats accidentally knocked over a candle and started the house on fire. If that wasn't bad enough, the 49-year-old lost her leg to an accident three years ago and wears a prosthetic leg. Hanson told investigators that when the fire started she was on the couch. Within seconds Hanson said she fell to the floor and her 13-year-old Golden Retriever and German Shepherd mix dog named Jesse brought her prosthetic leg to her and the phone to call for help. But Hanson said the leg was too hot to put on so she crawled on the floor to get to the front door.

While Hanson was crawling out the door she said Jesse ran upstairs to rescue an older cat named Tigger. Sadly, Jesse the dog and Tigger the cat died in the fire. The younger cat who started the fire survived. Hanson told local reporters she's not blaming the cat that started the fire.

"I love them all. They're just your family not really about being a cat or a dog. It's just our kids," said an emotionally drained Hanson.

Hanson told fire investigators she blames herself for not putting out the candles before she sat down on the couch.

And here's the news that made me want to cry: Not only did Hanson suffer third degree burns on her arm, the fire completely destroyed her home, and what's more, she does not have pictures of any of her pets because the pictures were lost in the fire.

A truly heartbreaking story.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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