DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A couple came to the rescue of a puppy that was pulled unresponsive from a trailer that caught fire along Interstate 595 in Davie.
Edgardo Romano and his wife, Jessica Trujillo, are longtime animal lovers. They said they were driving east on I-595 on Wednesday when they saw the burning trailer.
“We saw a man frantically coming out of an on-fire trailer,” said Romano. “I flipped a u-ey.”
Romano drove against traffic until he reached the fully engulfed camper.
“When we got there, there was this little doggie, and they were trying to pull him out,” said Trujillo. “They pulled him out, and then he was completely, I think, dead. It was just dead.”
Coco, a 7-month-old basset hound, had no pulse. The puppy was suffering from smoke inhalation.
Coco’s owner, Pedro Hernandez, was driving from Orlando to a local hospital to deliver COVID supplies. He said his puppy was in the camper when it suddenly caught fire.
“I go back, I opened the door, and at this moment, I couldn’t see my dog because everything was black,” he said.
Hernandez said he got his pet out of the trailer moments later.
“I pulled my dog out. I start CPR with him,” he said.
“The dog was actually on the floor laid out, and [Hernandez] was going frantic,” said Romano. “All I asked him first is, ‘Is there anybody else in the trailer?’ He said, ‘No.'”
Romano grabbed Coco and took him inside his car. Trujillo immediately began CPR.
“We start the procedure, giving him air through his nose,” she said.
The couple turned on the air conditioner.
“Jessica had the dog right here, and we put his mouth right here,” said Romano as he sat in the passenger seat and pointed to the air vent, “and Jessica kept pushing away while we administered air into it.”
Coco soon responded.
“I think it was God. He was there in the moment when I needed it,” said Hernandez. “I don’t know. I can’t believe it.”
Hernandez was taken to the hospital for heart and breathing issues. Meanwhile, the couple cared for Coco.
“We immediately rushed the dog to Boulevard Animal Hospital,” said Romano. “We have a good friend who’s taken care of all our animals for years, Dr. Davis, and he also jumped into action.”
Less than 24 hours later, Coco was released to his owner, who is very grateful.
“You saved a life. You did a very good job,” Hernandez told Romano and Trujillo during a video call.
In Spanish, Hernandez said, “It wasn’t me. It was the Lord.”
“It was us,” Romano replied.
But really, it was a selfless couple who stopped at nothing to help.
“More like, get involved and help, instead of sitting filming, you know?” said Romano. “There’s situations – with everything else that’s going on in the world, we need to regroup to our humanity.”
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Trujillo.
“An amazing feeling, a feeling of accomplishment,” said Romano.
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