These Fire Survivors Need a Home

These are some tough pups.

yesterday displaced two 2½-year-old Chihuahua sisters, Gia and Maya, along with two more dogs and a cat.

Two cats, however, did not survive the fire.

Santa Clara County firefighters responded to an apartment fire at the Hidden Lane Complex at 3589 S. Bascom Ave. on Nov. 15 and extinguished a blaze that was started by an electric blanket.

"It was a very sad, tragic thing," says neighbor Aimee Grenfell.

Although she does not personally know the tenant of the unit affected by the blaze, Grenfell sympathized with the woman and is currently watching little Gia.

“I can’t imagine what it must be like,” she said. “These are her babies. She doesn’t have any kids and she lost two of them."

When Grenfell drove up to her complex, the fire department had already brought out the animals and was resuscitating them.

"Knowing the fire department worked so hard to save them ..." she says. "They are heroes. They worked on one of the cats for 30 minutes and managed to resuscitate most of the animals.

"They were so nice," she continues. "They helped her take some clothes out, got the dog food and bowls out and washed them for her. I didn't know firefighters washed dog bowls. They were so sweet. 'Anything to help these little animals,' they said to us. Kudos to them. They were amazing."

But now, the animals like their owner are looking for a home. The tenant already has arranged for three separate families to take three of the dogs. Now only Gia and Maya need forever homes.

Little Maya was in the house when firefighters rescued her.

“When you petted her, you got soot on your hands,” Grenfell says. “It was just really sad. She’s been through a lot.”

Sister Gia was a bit luckier. She had been in the car of her owner that day so she did not need rescuing from the flames. But now, she, too, needs a home.

“Gia is very friendly,” Grenfell says. “Different people were holding her at different times yesterday and we were all strangers. She’s pretty scared right now. She doesn’t have her mommy with her. But she’s not the kind of Chihuahua that shakes and barks. She seems really friendly. She’s just a little sweetie that we need to find a place for.”

For more information or if you’re interested in helping Maya or Gia out, email Aimee Grenfell at aimeegrenfell@yahoo.com.