Against the odds, couple’s beloved dog survives apartment fire

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — They lost just about everything they owned, but they still have Daisy Mae.

And to Laressa Sexton and Kyle Bernhardsen that’s really all that matters.

Their third-floor apartment was destroyed in a Sept. 12 fire that caused more than $500,000 damage to the Taluswood Apartments in Mountlake Terrace. The two-alarm blaze, which investigators believe was started by a smoldering cigarette butt in another unit, was contained to three apartments. Two others had smoke and water damage.

Bernhardsen, who works at the complex, saw the smoke and flames and immediately feared for the worst. He called Sexton at work to break the news and pleaded with firefighters to save the couple’s beloved dog.

“I was just in tears,” he said. “All I could see was just flames in our unit. I thought she was a goner for sure.”

Snohomish County Fire District 1 Capt. Chuck Maddox remembers his conversation with Bernhardsen that morning. He made no promises.

“I told him, ‘I’ll do my best,’ ” he said.

He could relate to Bernhardsen. “My dog is pretty important to me, too,” he said.

Both knew the odds were against Daisy Mae.

Maddox found the hound mix curled up on top of a bed, panting heavily and unresponsive. Daisy Mae always figured she was entitled to a comfortable perch and was partial to the bed.

Maddox scooped her up in a comforter and lugged her — all 63 pounds — out and down the stairs.

Medics placed an oxygen mask over Daisy Mae’s snout and told the couple to get her to an emergency veterinary clinic fast.

“She was just dead weight,” Bernhardsen said. “Nothing there.”

They lifted her into the bed of Bernhardsen’s pickup truck. Sexton kept the oxygen mask in place while petting her soft honey-brown coat on the way there. She also told Daisy Mae how much she loved her, but there was no sign the dog heard her.

A team ready with a stretcher greeted them outside the VCA Veterinary Specialty Center in Lynnwood.

They worked on Daisy Mae for more than an hour before they called the couple in.

They placed orange tubes in her nose to feed her oxygen. More tubes strapped to her legs pumped in liquids. A large plastic cone kept Daisy Mae from undoing their handiwork.

They were told the next 72 hours would be critical.

“It was kind of a miracle,” Sexton said.

It wasn’t Daisy Mae’s first close call.

Sexton, who grew up in Maltby, rescued her from a Humane Society kennel in Vero Beach, Florida, two years ago. She was told a the time that Daisy Mae’s owner had died, but it took many days for anyone to realize the dog was locked up in the home. By the time authorities eventually broke through the door, Daisy Mae was skin and bones.

Sexton adopted Daisy Mae for several reasons. She wanted an older dog that might prove harder to adopt out than a puppy. There also was her demeanor. While other dogs jumped and wriggled for attention, Daisy Mae sat solemnly with a patient grace. Sexton was powerless to resist her sweet eyes.

A few months later, Daisy Mae swallowed part of a chew toy, triggering an allergic reaction. She became lethargic and swelled up with hives before a veterinarian was able to treat her.

Sexton thought she might lose her new friend that day.

Daisy Mae’s most recent ordeal proved far more perilous.

Over Facebook, Sexton kept friends and family abreast.

Here are some posts:

Sept. 12: “Daisy Mae was rescued today from the fire by some wonderful firemen who even came to visit her in the doggy ER.”

Sept. 13: “Our stuff is replaceable but Daisy Mae is not.”

Sept. 14: “Daisy Mae is doing well and was taken off oxygen last night and is breathing on her own.”

Sept. 15: “It is so sad to hear her cough and each time she coughs you can smell a bit of fire.”

Perhaps the hardest part for Sexton was leaving Daisy Mae after a visit at the veterinary center. It was the first time she’d ever heard the dog cry. It was as though she were pleading with her to stay or take her home.

Daisy Mae received burns to the corneas in both eyes and thermal burns to her lungs. She also suffered from smoke inhalation and possible carbon monoxide poisoning.

The couple had four different types of prescription eye drops to give her and Daisy Mae was not a big fan.

Yet she seems quite content these days.

For now, her new home is a Lynnwood hotel where she still claims dibs on the king-sized bed.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.