A loyal dog has been found waiting at the burnt-out ruin of his family home after it was destroyed in the devastating California wildfires.
Madison, an Anatolian shepherd, was found alive and well a month after Camp Fire forced her owners to evacuate their home which was then consumed by the flames.
According to Boston25 the dog’s owner Andrea Gaylord, was forced to leave the poor Madison behind, along with his brother Miguel, when evacuation orders prevented them returning home.
A neighbour later found Miguel, who’d escaped the flames and made his way to Citrus Heights but Andrea believed that Madison had also survived the fire.
In an attempt to find the missing dog, Shayla asked Andrea for a piece of clothing which she could leave on the now burned out ruin of the family home in the hopes that Madison would pick up the scent.
Amazingly when Andrea returned home earlier this week she discovered that Shayla’s plan had worked and Madison was waiting for her while ‘protecting’ what was left of the family home.
Sullivan wrote on Facebook:
After meeting Andrea in person when I took Miguel to her, I had the idea of placing an article of clothing that would smell like her( i had hugged her) to keep Madison’s hope alive until his people could return.
WELL, I’m so HAPPY to report that Andrea was allowed to return to her property today and THERE MADISON WAS!!!! He had stayed to protect what was left of his home, and NEVER gave up on his people!
Andrea is just one of the thousands of people living in California who’ve had their lives devastated by Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.
Camp Fire killed at least 85 members of the public, injured 17, and covered an area of about 153,336 acres. It burned for over two weeks and destroyed 18,804 structures causing an estimated $7.5-10 billion in insured damage.
The fire began on November 8 and was finally completely contained on November 28.
Investigators are currently looking into what started the fire but it’s been reported they believe that a badly maintained steel hook, which was holding up a high voltage line was a key cause of the fire.
8,434 fires have been reported over the 2018 wildfire season, making it the most destructive and deadly wildfire season on record in California.
So far the fires, in total, have caused more than $3.5 billion in damage and killed 97 civilians and six firefighters.
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More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.