Rottweiler and her puppies rescued after days in Park Burn scar

BUTTE COUNTY – A Rottweiler and her puppies were left behind after their owner’s vehicle broke down during the evacuation of the Park fire in Butte County were rescued a few days later on Wednesday by a member of Butte County Search and Rescue.

In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said a resident’s truck broke down in a remote area above Cohasset, near Campbellville, as people worked to evacuate the fire that has now burned 930,000 acres in Butte and Tehama counties.

The owner was forced to abandon two adult Rottweilers and their puppies after the truck broke down. The owner subsequently reported the location of the truck to emergency responders, but crews were unable to reach the location immediately.

Search and rescue member Trevor Skaggs flew to the area in a helicopter Saturday and ran more than a mile to the truck’s location, where he found the mother and her puppies alive. The father, however, did not survive.

Skaggs gave the dogs water and snacks from a protein bar he had brought with him. The dogs followed him back to the helicopter, where he loaded the dogs on board and flew them to the Chico airport.

The dogs are not being cared for by the North Valley Animal Disaster Group.