Never underestimate the loyalty of a dog.
This point was driven home (quite literally) during the last month, starting with the November 8 spark that ignited the destructive Camp Fire, which consumed communities in northern California. When officials announced evacuation orders, Paradise resident Andrea Gaylord wasn’t even home, and she was forced to leave without her two Anatolian shepherd mixes, brothers Miguel and Madison.
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Days after the fire broke out, she contacted an animal rescue group that was on the ground, K9 Paw Print Rescue, and asked if someone could try and locate her dogs. Volunteer Shayla Sullivan was on the case. She found Miguel almost right away, safely tucked away at a shelter in Citrus Heights, about two hours away, and made the round-trip drive to bring him back to Paradise.
Madison wasn’t hard to locate either – his white coat must have stood out in stark contrast against the blackened hills surrounding the skeleton of a home he refused to leave unguarded. She “knew he took his job seriously and wasn’t going to be an easy catch,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
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Hoping to lure him out of the canyon, she began leaving food and water out for him. Meanwhile, she and Andrea finally met and embraced tightly. Since the shirt now carried his beloved owner’s scent, Shayla (pictured, left, below) left it at the home site “to keep Madison’s hope alive”until the evacuation orders were lifted and Andrea could return.
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That day came last week, when Paradise residents were finally given the okay to return. Madison had refused to give up hope, and that devotion was rewarded when he spotted his humans pull up to the lot where their house once stood!
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He was ecstatic to finally see Andrea again, and, of course, Miguel!
You okay, bro?
Yeah, you?
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The stories that are now coming out about Madison’s steadfast devotion in the face of such a traumatic set of circumstances have won him fans and hearts around the world! Watch the video below to hear more about this incredible story, and share if you agree there’s nothing like a dog’s love and loyalty!
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