Pit bull a hero saving owner’s life

May 20, 2010

Berkeley, Calif. -- The Berkeley East Bay Humane Society needs your help! A midnight fire destroyed the shelter last week, leaving dozens of “rescued” dogs and cats homeless. Over a dozen cats were killed in the fire, whose cause is unknown and still under investigation. All of the dogs were saved. It has been suggested that faulty laundry appliances may be to blame.

"This is such a devastating loss not only for the cats' lives, but for our work, for all the hard work that we put in," said Berkeley Humane Society worker Katherine O'Donnell. "I mean we save at least 800 animals each year."

Volunteers from the city of Berkeley's Animal care Services took the 14 dogs saved from the fire for medical examinations and provided temporary shelter for the now-homeless-again dogs. Others in the community have also stepped up to help. Veterinarian Dr. Alan Shriro helped connect the shelter with Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital who is now providing temporary foster homes for some of the dogs.

But in every tragedy, a hero emerges and in this case, it was Baby, a four-year-old pit bull mix that lived in the now-burned apartment above the shelter. She sprang to action upon the smoke and flames and woke her owner, saving her life just in the nick of time. Firefighters said that just four minutes more, and Baby’s owner JoHanna White might not have made it out alive.

"She came in, jumped on me in bed, wacked me in the face with her paw, and licked me until I got up. When I sat up I smelled smoke," said White, whose apartment was devastated by the fire. “At first I thought maybe I’d left the electric kettle on, but then when I saw the smoke in the hallway, I knew we had to get out.”

White had only lived in the apartment for five weeks and many of her belongings were still in boxes. Her husband, John, and four-year-old daughter, Morgan, were not with her at the time, as they are still in the process of moving to Berkeley, where John will be working on his university degree in Psychology. The family chose this particular apartment to live – and moved in early – due to the challenges of finding dog-friendly housing that met the needs of a young family with a child near campus.

“I am in the process of recovering from it all,” White said. “My first thought was that I needed to save my daughter, but she wasn’t there, so it was just Baby. I had a moment to run back in the building before the fire destroyed everything. I grabbed our wedding photos, my camera that had about 150 pictures on it, my laptop, and my husband’s x-box. I’m just grateful to be alive and that Baby was able to wake and warn me!”

To make a donation to the shelter, a non-profit human society, and help in their re-build, visit www.berkeleyhumane.org or mail to BEBHS, 2700 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA 94710.

Foster homes are being sought for many of the animals retrieved from the shelter. People who have space to temporarily house a dog or cat are asked to send an e-mail to foster@berkeleyhumane.org

Humane society officials are also looking for volunteers to help clean up and repair the shelter and care for the remaining animals. People interested in volunteering can send an e-mail to volunteer@berkeleyhumane.org

The White family has set up a webpage for donations to help them get back on their feet. Visit it here.