‘Those guys are my heroes’: Spokane man recounts how firefighters resuscitated his dog trapped in house fire

Ryan Beres thought his dog was dead when firefighters carried her out of his burning, smoky home Tuesday in East Central Spokane.

Abby, a roughly 1-year-old German Shepherd mix, was unconscious when firefighters applied a pet resuscitation mask on the canine.

Beres said firefighters worked on Abby for 10 or 15 minutes outside his East Sixth Avenue home before he noticed her start to pant again. Abby eventually got up and later ran around with his neighbor’s dogs.

“Those guys are my heroes,” Beres said of the firefighters.

Fire crews were called at about 12:20 p.m. to the blaze at the 2500 block of East Sixth Avenue, said Justin de Ruyter, fire department spokesman.

Beres, a 50-year-old welder, said he was at work at Valleyford Metal Crafters in Spokane when he got a call from his neighbor who told him smoke was pouring out of his basement. The neighbor called 911 as Beres rushed home, opened the door to look for Abby and encountered a “straight wall of brown smoke,” he said.

Beres said he notified firefighters, who arrived shortly after he got there, that his dog was inside.

They retrieved Abby, who Beres described as limp, and started treating her outside the front of his home. He said it wasn’t looking good for Abby, who he affectionately calls “Abby Dabby Doo” or “Abracadabra,” and he couldn’t believe it when he saw signs of life in his dog.

The fire came up from the basement and burned through the living room floor, Beres said. He said Abby was on the main floor of the home, which is two stories plus the basement.

Firefighters knocked down flames in the basement in about 10 minutes, de Ruyter said.

The fire damaged the basement, and smoke damage was reported throughout the rest of the home, according to de Ruyter.

The blaze displaced Beres and Abby, and the American Red Cross is assisting them. De Ruyter said an electrical malfunction was to blame.

Beres said Abby was behaving normally not long after firefighters worked on her, but he took her to an emergency clinic late Tuesday night after she started to have breathing difficulties at the hotel where they were staying. He said doctors told him his dog sustained smoke inhalation and corneal abrasions from soot in her eyes.

Doctors gave Beres eye drops for Abby and told him to keep an eye on her the next couple days for any new or worsening symptoms.

Abby, who Beres rescued from Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, acted calm Wednesday, which is different from her usual demeanor, Beres said.

“She usually has a lot more energy than this,” Beres said. “She’s just not feeling very well.”

Beres said he was living in the home, which actually belongs to his mother, and remodeling it while his mom moved into his house because it better suited her mobility needs.

The Sixth Avenue house was built in 1906, according to Spokane County property records.

Much of the remodel work Beres completed needs to be redone because of the fire, Beres said.

“It is what it is,” he said.

Beres said he will move back into his house while figuring out how much home insurance will cover.

He was able to thank and shake the hand of one of the firefighters who helped save his dog.

“They gave it their all,” Beres said. “Those guys are pretty awesome.”