Firefighter Helps 1-Year-Old Chihuahua Cheat Death – Again!

ADDISON (CBS 11 NEWS) - She's being called a "miracle dog." A one-year-old Chihuahua named Pony has faced tragedy twice in her short life.

Pony is cute and cuddly and tough as nails. In 2013 she survived the awful fertilizer explosion in West, and Yvette Childers adopted her as a refugee pet. But last week, death came calling again. Trapped in a crate in the back of Childers' rolling motor home when the RV burst into flames.

"I opened the door and got out… five foot flames were leaping up," Childers recalled. "To be standing there, there is no torture like that and knowing she was in there? It was horrible. It was horrible. I don't think there's any hell like that."

Arriving Addison firefighters faced both flames and a frantic Yvette. "I just stood there saying, 'You've got to save the dog! You've got to save the dog! Bring the dog back!'"

Rescuers cut open the RV to get to Pony's crate. Captain Scott Ledet feared it was too late. "So when I saw the dog in the back of the cage. It was lifeless. I knew it was not a good situation."

But firefighters like Ledet are also dog lovers. He's especially fond of Chihuahuas. "I removed my mask and my helmet and I just started doing CPR, like I would on any other occasion."

Yes CPR -- as in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. After starting the life saving technique Ledet said, "She responded slightly. She began to 'belly breathe.'"

Belly breathing refers to one having a faint heart rate. Ledet kept at it for 20 minutes. "She began to blink. She began to look around. She quit 'belly breathing' and we saw her chest rise and fall with her respiration."

Ledet said he never gave up hope. "They're pretty resilient when they're small like that."

Pony had survived. Again.

Pony and her mom still have challenges to face. All their earthly possessions were burned in the RV fire… but they say they're resilient. "And I'm so glad," Childers said, "Because I don't care about the RV or anything that's in it. This is most important."

Still, owner and dog could use a hand up. Click here to find out more about the account set up on their behalf.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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