Dogs serve as mascots in police and fire stations. They provide joy and happiness to the team especially when the members experience so much stress from their jobs.
In the central Florida fire station, the firefighters were longing for a firehouse dog. Little did they know that the team’s wish would come true! They did not only have one dog in the fire department; instead, they had eight dogs!
In May 2018, one stray dog was seen outside Apopka Fire Station in Florida. The dog was in rough shape. The passerby who saw the dog called paramedic Lieutenant Renee Beasley to check on the poor dog.
Lieutenant Beasley immediately brought the dog to the vet to further assess her condition. Lieutenant Beasley was an animal lover, that was why it was only natural for her to pay attention to the animals who needed help.
The vet confirmed that the dog was pregnant. It was also revealed that the dog was struggling to be alive while living on the streets. The x-ray results showed that the dog ate about 9-12 nails due to extreme hunger.
Lieutenant Beasley and her husband decided to take care of the dog until she gave birth. They named the dog Lady. Lady delivered eight pups, but sadly, one of them passed away. Luckily, the remaining puppies survived and thrived.
The firefighters at the Apopka Fire Station took turns in taking care of Lady and her puppies while Lieutenant Beasley was busy at work.
Later on, when the community heard about Lady and her pups, some had signed up to become adopters of the puppies. As soon as Lady’s puppies were old enough and weaned from breastfeeding, they would be given to their adoptive families. Lady and one of her pups would stay with Lieutenant Beasley to become the fire department’s unofficial fire dogs.
Photo courtesy of Apopka Fire Department via Facebook