The heartwarming moment a family discovers their dog survived a deadly California wildfire
A family was elated to discover that their Bernese Mountain Dog, Izzy, somehow managed to survive the wildfires that have ravaged areas of California.
Jack Weaver and his brother-in-law Patrick Widen hiked miles to Weaver's mother's home in Santa Rosa earlier this week. Despite being turned away by police, the men managed to make their way to the property for an important mission.
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Although most valuables had been destroyed in the wildfire that ripped through the city, the men returned to the burned down home to retrieve the body of the family dog, which was presumed dead, the Associated Press reports.
But when the men arrived on the scene, Izzy was there waiting for them to return, tail wagging as they approached.
"The anticipation is killing me," Jack can be heard saying in a clip, later uploaded to Facebook by Beckyjean Widen, Jack's sister. The men start to desperately call for Izzy, clapping and whistling. Finally, one of the men spots the dog, and the two immediately break down.
"Izzy's here! Izzy! Izzy, come here, baby!" Jack says as the very good dog happily approaches.
According to the post from Beckyjean Widen, her parents were forced to evacuate in the middle of the night, and in all the chaos, Izzy ran away. Their mother, Kathy Weaver, was obviously upset they were forced to leave the family dog.
"They lost everything, but my mom was most devastated about leaving Izzy," Beckjean wrote.
"She went from being devastated about losing her home to the being the happiest person I've ever seen. I couldn't get home fast enough. She was really, really happy ... She's still shaken up by the whole thing, but she's in much better spirits now that Izzy is at our house," Jack told the Associated Press.
A vet check revealed that 9-year-old Izzy was unharmed in the fire, which is miraculous considering the destruction the fires have caused.
The Tubbs fire burned over 35,000 acres in Santa Rose, and is only 60 percent contained as of Sunday, according to California firefighters. Overall, the multiple fires that started first on Oct. 8 are responsible for the deaths of at least 40 people, making it the deadliest wildfire outbreak in the state's history.
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