Coco might not have been a big dog, but she will always be remembered for her giant heart and for her unwavering loyalty until the day she died.
The little Chihuahua passed away when there was an explosion from a burning van – she was rushing back in order to try and save her family. Dan and Cara Farrant had been driving with their three sons, ages 5, 6, and 9, as well as their 3-year-old daughter.
Their family, including their dog Coco, were driving to Scotland from their home in England – that’s when they noticed smoke starting to billow out from the engine.
Dan quickly began to pull over and by the time he did, there were already flames starting to reach out from under the hood of the car.
Dan worked quickly to get his sons and Coco out of the van before the flames reached the body of the car, but as the fire got worse, the mechanical systems failed from the heat – Cara and his 3-year-old daughter were still stuck in the van.
“I remember looking in [and] I thought it was too late,” Dan told the DailyMail. “Cara and Thea was trapped in.”
“I will never forget the look and never forget the screaming at this point,” he said. “I remember turning around and the flames were the full height of the windscreen just behind me.”
A stranger saw the imminent danger and ran to help Dan pry open the doors of the burning van.
Cara and Thea were able to escape but their Chihuahua thought that they were still inside and ran back to the burning van as well. She was trying to help rescue them and had jumped back inside.
Sadly, the family didn’t realize what Coco had done until it was too late.
“We tried to run back, but the van exploded with Coco inside,” Dan said.
Cell phone video footage shows the van burning on the side of the highway in the video below.
The Farrant family stared on as their van became engulfed in flames, their hearts breaking for their beloved dog that was stuck inside.
“I was only a few seconds from losing my wife and my little girl Thea. Instead, we lost our best companion, our angel Coco,” Dan said. “My children are suffering and having nightmares. They knew she had gone back in and watched our vehicle explode in front of them with their beloved dog inside.
“I have no feelings other than just numbness,” he said. “My family nearly ended up from being six of us to being four in less than a few seconds.”
With the flames extinguished, firefighters found Coco’s little body underneath the front seat of the van. She tried to hide to escape the heat of the flames.
“I’m just lucky it wasn’t me or my daughter that lost our lives but I will never get over losing Coco,” Cara said. “Coco was the glue to our family. If one of us was sad or ill she would stay with that person.”
Not only did the family lose their family pet, but they also lost Christmas presents they just received, clothes, and the camper converter that they just installed. Sadly, none of it was covered by insurance.
The family is reeling from the loss of Coco, but they are grateful to still have each other. There has been a GoFundMe campaign set up to help the family cover the losses of the tragic accident. If you’d like to donate, you can do so here.
Cell phone video footage shows the van burning on the side of the highway in the video below.
Our hearts go out to the Farrant family, and although nothing can bring Coco back, they know that she died trying to protect them from harm – and that means so much.
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