Lexi Ann really was a happy dog. She had a family, a home, and puppies to love. But suddenly, everything was ripped away from her as a fire tore through her owners’ house. She lost her own life — in fact, she only escaped because the kennel she was trapped inside literally melted.
The mix lab survived, but she suffered severe injuries all over her body. Unfortunately, the family’s other pets weren’t so lucky as two cats, another dog, and Lexi’s puppies perished in the fire.
However, Lexi’s luck seemed to be over when her owners dropped her off at a vet clinic to be euthanized. They thought she would not be able to heal again.
But fortunately for her, one of the vet techs didn’t agree. They reached out to Ruff Start, an animal rescue in Princeton, Minnesota and the organization was more than happy to take Lexi in.
After over two weeks of pain and anxiety, Lexi’s burns started to heal quickly and as she healed, her personality began to shine.
Meanwhile, miles away, Travis Oliver had been closely following Lexi’s story. Travis, a firefighter in West Lafayette, Indiana fallowed Ruff Start Rescue on Instagram and here he first saw Lexi.
“My heart literally broke for her,” Oliver said. “I fell in love with her and knew she was my dog.”
As a firefighter for more than 11 years, Oliver has meet a lot of similiar cases in his career.
“Pulling those dogs and cats out, it hurts,” he said. “But, if I could have [Lexi] at home, it would be a little bit of relief. I can go home and give her the love she deserves.”
Ruff Start doesn’t normally do out-of-state adoptions, but they made an exception for the determined family who drove 11 hours to meet Lexi. Oliver drive all over the way with his wife, his daughter, a dog and two cats.
When the firefighter first meet Lexi it was love at first sight. The two could not have been a more perfect match even if they tried.
“Her dad is a full-time firefighter and connected with Lexi due to the trauma he knows fire can impact on the lives of humans and animals,” Ruff Start wrote. “He actually has pulled his fair share of animals out of fires, many of which were not as lucky as Lexi Ann.”
Oliver is hoping that although Lexi is a dog, her story can help other burn victims as well. As he has reached out to a camp in Indiana that helps children who are burn victims, Oliver said he wants to bring Lexi there too. He thinks Lexi might help the kids with their own healing if they can see that she has scars from her burns too…and because “everyone loves dogs.”
Source: https://www.inspiremore.com
