Two Freedom High School students were walking from school on the afternoon of Dec. 1 when they saw smoke coming from a home at 5249 Neroly Road, Hopkins said.
They stopped and called 911. As they were waiting for firefighters to arrive, a neighbor came outside and told the students that the family's three dogs were inside. She insisted that the two students, both teenage boys, break down the door to rescue the dogs, Hopkins said.
The high school students helped pull the dogs from the house and the neighbor began performing animal CPR on a 2-month-old Staffordshire terrier puppy named "Pink."
The neighbor was able to "essentially bring the puppy back to life," by performing "mouth-to-snout" resuscitation until paramedics arrived, Hopkins said.
When firefighters arrived, fire engineer-paramedic Dave Manzeck used the fire district's animal resuscitation kit to administer oxygen to the puppy and its 12-year-old "uncle" dog "Kane."
The third dog was not injured and ran away as soon as it was carried out of the house, Hopkins said. It has since been found. Firefighters knocked down the blaze in about 15 minutes, but smoke and fire damage left the house uninhabitable, Hopkins said.
The family, two adults and two young children have been staying in a rental apartment in Antioch.
All three dogs, which have been staying in a local kennel, will be reunited with the family at 1 p.m. today at 4633 Golden Bear Drive in Antioch, Hopkins said. The family has renamed the puppy "Miracle."
