DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Plenty of smiles filled the Douglas County Fire & EMS Headquarters in Douglasville.
For the firefighters and paramedics of the department, it was a special opportunity to reunite with a special rescuee; Knala the 6-year-old pitbull.
The canine and her owners were rescued from their burning home on Sequia Lane on Jan. 10. While Eleanor Robinson and her family were able to get out, initially Knala was not.
"There was just nothing but thick black smoke streaming through the front of the door," she told 11Alive in an interview. "We knew that she was probably on the second floor where she always sleeps and just was afraid to come down to the first level."
The firefighters went inside, despite the lack of visibility in an attempt to locate the family pet.
"There was zero visibility in front of you…you pretty much couldn't see your hand in front of your face," Captain Daniel Callan described at Friday's press conference.
He said the team had to use infrared technology to locate Knala, who was unconscious. Her owners initially believed she was dead when she was rescued from the burning home.
Paramedic Joan Anderson refused to accept that account. As the owner of two dogs, she said she understood how devastating losing Knala would be to the family. She began the chest compressions that would inevitably save Knala's life.
"I wasn't going to give up this one thing because I wouldn't give up on my dog," she said.
Today, her owners say Knala still has a small bit of recovery to go, but they're happy she is alive and as excited as ever.
"A house can be rebuilt, maybe redone, remodeled. But, you know, if we lost Knala there's no way to get another one," Kevin Alexander Jr. said.