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Zack Keithy, our author, is a certified veterinarian technician (UC Blue Ash) for over 6 years (contact him here). The articles written here are based on his expertise and experience, combined with a review by our expert vet reviewers including Dr M. Tarantino. Learn more about us here.
A dog named Milo was reunited with the firefighters who saved his life after being found unconscious inside a smoke filled Pasadena, California home. Firefighters from the Pasadena, Arcadia, and Sierra Madre fire departments responded on September 9, 2026 to reports of a house fire, after a 911 caller reported hearing a dog barking inside the home.
No people were home at the time, but Milo, a 6 year old Sheltie, was trapped inside. Sierra Madre firefighter Jessica Johnson found him hiding under a table amid thick black smoke. He was unconscious by the time she carried him outside. “I barely could see him. I just kind of picked him up, brought him outside, and realized you could feel how limp he was,” Johnson said. Firefighters worked to revive Milo with a pet oxygen mask on scene. Johnson, who owns a dog herself, described the moment as emotional. “I shed a little bit of a tear but, you know, you’ve got to keep it professional and continue to do my job, which I did. I did my job, and it came out successful, came out rewarding,” she said.
According to Pasadena firefighters, Milo had been inside the home for at least 8 minutes, and additional time could have changed the outcome entirely. Milo’s owner, Leticia, expressed her gratitude to the crews during the reunion. “Acting as quickly as they did, risking their lives for somebody else, and trying for it to be the best outcome as possible,” she said. “I’m forever, forever grateful. They’re truly heroes.” Pasadena Fire Department officials used the incident as a reminder for pet owners to place a sign near the front door indicating how many pets are inside a home, to help responders act quickly in an emergency.
Milo is recovering well, according to his family, though he’s still dealing with a slight cough. His vet expects him to fully recover, and he has returned to his normal routine of running and playing, with a follow-up checkup scheduled.
My thoughts: The detail that stands out most is Johnson’s account of how limp Milo felt the moment she picked him up, a small, physical detail that makes clear how close this actually came to a different outcome. Eight minutes doesn’t sound like much until you consider it was enough time to render a healthy dog unconscious from smoke inhalation. It’s also worth noting how directly the fire department turned this into a practical takeaway, a simple pet notification sign by the front door, rather than just letting the story end at “he’s okay now.”
Source: ABC7 Los Angeles
