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By Chloe Mayer
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The tears of a distraught pet owner turned to tears of joy when Casey Colvin found his beloved dog Oreo alive, after five days of searching for him amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
Colvin was out at work when the blaze broke out and he was unable to get to his home in time. A firefighter tried to save his two dogs, but one fled in terror during the rescue. Colvin spent days searching through the ruins of their former home and the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades streets before he found his missing pet, with the pair sharing an emotional reunion that was caught on camera.
Newsweek has reached out to Colvin via Facebook seeking further information and comment.
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Why It Matters
Many pets and wild animals have perished in the blazes, with one nature center burning down before its animals could be saved. Happy endings are few and far between amongst the thousands of stories of residents who have lost their homes, their lives, or their pets in the apocalyptic fires raging across Los Angeles.
Amid bleak accounts of loss, grief and anger, the reunion of Colvin and Oreo offers a glimmer of hope to others searching for their own lost loved ones.
What To Know
Pacific Palisades resident Colvin happened to be recorded by NBC 4 last Tuesday when he was prevented from returning to his home because it was under threat from the approaching flames.
He had heard the alert while he was at work, but it had taken him hours to fight his way through the snarled-up traffic and now it looked like it was too late.
His shock turned to horror as he begged for help to rescue his two dogs who were still inside the property at the time. NBC 4 reporter Liz Kreutz appeared to fight back tears as he told her: "I hope to God my dogs are OK; they're my family. I don't care about the house. I care about my dogs." He began to sob as he said: "I literally rescued them off the street. They deserve better than this. How do I get to my house?"
An update later that evening revealed that a firefighter had managed to rescue one of the dogs, a girl named Tika Tika Tika, as the neighborhood burned down around them.
The camera zoomed in and Tika Tika Tika was visibly shaking, with her teeth chattering in shock or fear, as Colvin clutched her to his chest in the smoky air. "This is my daughter," Colvin said. But his terrified second dog, Oreo, had ran away from the emergency responder. Colvin said the pup's AirTag tracker didn't seem to be working and he launched a desperate appeal to find his missing dog as their home burned.
A subsequent sighting by a neighbor on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) gave him hope that Oreo may still be alive.
A dog shelter named the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation took Colvin to help him search for Oreo. The organization says it has evacuated more than 300 animals from Los Angeles during the wildfires.
On Sunday—five days after Oreo disappeared—the pair were reunited in a dramatic and tear-jerking encounter that was caught on camera. Kreutz shared the footage on X, formerly Twitter, where it went viral receiving over 6.4 million views as of Monday afternoon.
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Footage filmed at the scene shows Colvin squeezing a squeaky toy as he called for his pet, then he cooed at a small dog standing on a hill beyond a closed metal gate. The ruins beyond the gate were once a neighbor's home. The dog paused uncertainly, then trotted, then ran towards Colvin. The animal scurried underneath the gate, where Colvin scooped him into his arms.
It was Oreo. He had somehow managed to keep himself alive for the best part of a week amongst the rubble.
"Oh my God, you're alive!" Colvin screamed. "You're alive! Woooooo!" He ran around with his pet, whose blonde fur appeared to be streaked grey with dirt or ash. Colvin later collapsed against the gate, still holding the dog, as he cried out: "Thank you Jesus!"
What People Are Saying
NBC 4 reporter Liz Kreutz, who helped Colvin search for his pets, posted on her own social media feeds about the reunion to remind her followers that the pet owner had not abandoned his animals. "Casey did not leave without his dogs. He wasn't home when the evacuation notice went out and was desperately trying to get back home to get them," she wrote on X.
"Had that firefighter not offered to go get the dogs, both of them would have been trapped inside when the flames came," she told her Instagram followers.
The footage of the reunion was also shared online by the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, which wrote on Instagram on Sunday: "We are so grateful that we have been allowed to help. Our organization has evacuated and transported over three hundred animals to safety. This mornings rescue was especially moving and heart felt. The man in the video was trying to find his dog for 5 days. I got the plea for help this morning [...] Picked the person up, drove him into the fire zone to search for the pup - and we were able to reunite them just now. Los Angeles really does come together in tragedy and despair. Thank you to all who have helped in any way possible."
What Happens Next
It's not yet clear where Colvin and his dogs—all homeless now—are staying as they join thousands of Californians facing the same uncertain future.
His friend Corey Ford, who has known Colvin since grade school, has set up a fundraising appeal on the GoFundMe website, writing: "My dear friend of 30+ years, Casey Colvin, has lost his home, his car and all his belongings in the California fire [...] His whole neighborhood has literally been reduced to ashes and stacks of rubble."
He added that, "like many of the residents out there, most of his insurance claims will be denied or the coverage was pulled prior to all this [...] My goal is to raise $15k to help him get thru the next few months. He works sales and his income will be severely affected since his customer base are businesses in that same area, dealing with the same horrible fallout of the fires."
As of early Tuesday afternoon, the fundraiser's total stood at more than $13,000.
Update 1/14/25, 1:50 p.m. EDT: This article was updated to include details of the GoFundMe appeal.
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