Awards Go to Heroic Dog and the Firefighters Who Saved Him

PETA Celebrates Courageous Canine and First Responders Who Pulled Him From Burning Home

For Immediate Release:
August 8, 2019

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Awards are on their way from PETA to a dog named Dudley and the New Albany Fire Department in recognition of the firefighters’ lifesaving actions during a house fire on July 30.

Dudley’s guardian, Marvin Foster, was showering when the fire broke out, but the dog bumped open the bathroom door and alerted him to the billowing smoke. Foster and his son made it to safety but soon realized that Dudley was still trapped inside. Firefighters rushed in, whisked him to safety just in time, and stabilized his breathing by administering oxygen. “He wasn’t trapped in there for too long, but it’s a miracle that he is alive, with the severity of the fire,” Deputy Fire Chief Mark Whiteside tells PETA.

“Every July 30 from here on out will be Dudley’s Day,” Foster tells PETA. The Foster family continues to visit their pup at the clinic where he’s receiving veterinary care for the burns that he sustained in the fire.

“A dog’s love is unconditional, and our beloved companions will put their very lives on the line to protect us from harm,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA encourages anyone who’s inspired by Dudley’s selflessness and heroism to consider providing a dog who’s waiting at a local animal shelter with a lifelong home.”

PETA encourages all animal guardians to watch its fire-safety public service announcement (available here) and to put a sign on their doors or windows to alert rescue workers to the presence of dogs, cats, and other animal companions. Families can order stickers from the PETA Shop or make their own.

The Foster family will receive a Heroic Dog Award certificate and a letter of congratulations along with a “doggie bag” of toys and vegan treats for Dudley to enjoy after he’s recovered. The fire department will receive a Compassionate Fire Department Award certificate, a stack of PETA’s fire-alert stickers, boxes of delicious vegan cookies, and a copy of The Engine 2 Diet—a Texas firefighter’s 28-day plan for staying in prime firefighting shape by eating vegan meals.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.