When firefighter Bill Lindler rescued a puppy he discovered inside his neighbor’s burning garage, he never imagined the impact the cute little furball would have on his life.
That’s because Jake the scrappy pitbull puppy would grow up to be more than just a mangy mutt.
This little runt was destined to become THE top dawg of South Carolina’s Hanahan Fire Department!
Bill Lindler has the heroic duty of saving lives while putting his own at risk. It was no different the day he came across a badly burned 3-week-old pitbull puppy cowering in the corner of a burning building.
He told The Dodo that he saw a mama doggo and her puppies run out, but one of them almost didn’t make it!
“I saw one puppy trying to make his way out, when a piece of the ceiling fell on top of him. He started yelping, but he wiggled himself free and backed into a corner and cowered down.”
Bill’s firefighting instincts took over, and he put his own life at risk to save the scrappy little creature that crawled out from underneath a piece of burning roof.
With second and third-degree burns on over 75 percent of his body, this puppy wasn’t going to make it without emergency care.
Sadly, the family who owned him did not want to take care of the medical costs to save his life. Bill explained in a post on Jake’s Facebook page that it wasn’t about the money:
“…it wasn’t the fact of the costs because most vets do have payment options. No vet will hold your pet ransom. The family just walked out of the vet office without even filling out the payment paperwork.”
After discussing it with his wife, Bill and his family decided to adopt little Jake. Due to the severity of his injuries, the adorable doggy had to stay under 24/7 medical care for six weeks before he could go home to his new family.
This was Jake’s second time getting rescued by Bill, and his story just gets better by the day!
While recovering from his wounds, Jake got to spend a lot of time in the yard doing what dogs love doing best – run around with a ball in his mouth!
It was a time to heal…and play!
When Bill started taking Jake with him to work at the Hanahan Fire Department in South Carolina, it didn’t take long for fellow firefighters to fall in love with the adorable puppy.
The fire chief insisted on swearing Jake in as a city firefighter, which came with cool perks, like being able to strut around in a fireman’s uniform.
He’s a hero-in-training!
As the head mascot of the Hanahan Fire Department, Jake gets to help schoolchildren learn about fire safety. And who better to teach? He certainly has plenty of first-hand experience in the matter!
A hero’s work is never done! Jake is being trained to detect the smell of accelerants and other flammable liquids that may be present after a fire.
This can help fire detectives pinpoint where the fire originated from, and determine if there was a possible arson involved.
But, what is Jake’s favorite part of the job?
It’s snuggling with his best hero friend, of course!
That fateful fire that brought them together proved to be the best thing to ever happen to Bill and his furry firefighting friend.
While one man came running to the rescue, the other turned into quite literally the best, and most proud, “rescue” dog ever!
Be sure to check out the video below to find out more about Jake’s amazing story that took him full circle from a pup in a burning building to a firefighting dog.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
