03/25/2026
Seven years ago, I found an abandoned puppy in a park while on a morning walk. Despite having a “full house” at the time, we decided to keep her so our kids could have a dog to grow up with. We named her Idgie (pictured at the moment I found her) after the scrappy, petite, blonde character in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”. She bonded immediately with our kids and is always at their side.
Yesterday afternoon, Idgie began barking incessantly at the backdoor. Our son went to see why Idgie was barking and saw a fire on our back porch/ rear exterior wall of our home. Our kids immediately called 911, grabbed the pets within arms reach and ran out of the house. The kids could only grab Idgie and one of our two cats. Our son’s cat was headed towards the open door as everyone was exiting, but she became spooked and ran back into the house. The kids made the difficult decision to get to safety and leave one of the cats behind. Ever since the kids were little, we have drilled into them that in the event of a fire, they must get out of a burning house and to a safe place, even if it means leaving behind their favorite possessions or even the pets.
The fire department arrived within THREE MINUTES after receiving the 911 call. By that time, the fire was raging and the house was filled with smoke. We knew our cat was still inside and prayed she would survive. The firemen put in a lot of effort searching for her, but they did not find her. They told us there was a chance she could survive the heat and smoke if she had stayed in certain areas of the house. By the time the fire was extinguished, it was dark and there were many open areas in the structure. We had hoped she had escaped since they had not found her. Several hours later, as we searched through wet, sooty debris in what used to be our home, our cat came out of hiding. She was stinky and dirty, but appeared to have made it through ok. Finding the missing member of our family was an answered prayer and made losing virtually everything seem inconsequential.
We are sharing our story in hopes it will remind families to form a plan of action/ be prepared if a house fire ever occurs. It happens SO VERY FAST and not knowing what to do or where to go may determine whether or not you get out safely, even if that means making the gut-wrenching decision to prioritize human life over beloved pets.
