Dog Saved in Fire
By: Jaimie Weiss
Updated: September 12, 2007
An Evansville family is trying to figure out where to go tonight after their home was nearly destroyed in a fire.
Losing their home paled in comparison to the way they felt when they realized their dog was missing.
The fire started just after 1:30 this afternoon.
Most of the damage is in the back of the house.
Firefighters say its extensive and the Skaggs family who lives her has lost nearly everything.
But there is one thing they saved their dog.
It took some time and some help from firefighters and paramedics before they got her back.
Its not often paramedics need to treat a dog.
But this 9 year old Chiuaua Talika is getting all the help she needs from these EMTs.
"Needed a little oxygen," says Firefighter Keith Jarboe.. Talika was the only thing that made it out of her familys house after it caught fire.
But finding her wasnt an easy task.
"The dog actually ran into the fire."
Roger Skaggs needed to use a large oak tree in his front yard to stand up while firefighters searched for his pet.
"Shes part of the family. Thats one of the kids."
He was still shaking after watching his house burn - knowing Talkia was still inside.
"My daughter went in. She was the first one to see."
Skaggs was on the front porch while his daughter was finishing the laundry.
"All the smoke came rolling through the house and I couldnt get back in to get the dog."
It took firefighters less than 30 minutes to put out that blaze.
It took more than an hour to find Talika, "underneath the bed in the bedroom."
And reunite her with her parents.
"She was kinda nervous after I held her for awhile she was okay."
Paramedics checked her clearing her lungs of all the smoke.
Now Skaggs is trying to figure out what to do without a home, but he says everything will work out.
"Especially because we got Talika back."
Investigators say theyre looking at the laundry room and water heater as a possible cause.
Skaggs wife was at work at the CVS around the coroner at the time.
Theyre providing the family with some necessities while they figure out what to do next
