A dog stands guard outside his owner's California home for almost a month after the Camp Fire

After his owners left their fire-ravaged home, Madison stood watch over the property for a month. When they returned, he was there waiting. (Image: Twitter, @MuhammadLila)
After his owners left their fire-ravaged home, Madison stood watch over the property for a month. When they returned, he was there waiting. (Image: Twitter, @MuhammadLila)

For nearly a month, Madison guarded his owner’s home after the devastating California wildfires. Now, thanks to the help of animal rescue services, Madison has been reunited with his owner.

Andrea Gaylord, Madison’s owner, had requested that animal rescuers look for Madison on the property, the Associated Press reported. Gaylord had to leave her home in Paradise, Calif., when the Camp Fire broke out last month, the AP explained. Fortunately, she was able to return to the property this week, where she found Madison awaiting her return.

Shayla Sullivan, the K9 Paw Print Rescue member who provided Madison with food and water while Gaylord was away, told the AP that the dog was always wary of her, keeping a distance between them when she went to check in on him. But she still made sure the Anatolian shepherd dog had enough to eat and drink until his owner could come back and care for him once again. Sullivan also rescued Madison’s canine brother, Miguel, and reunited the two dogs.

“If [the evacuees] can’t be there, I’m going to be, and I’m not going to give up on their animal until they can get back in,” Sullivan told the AP. Sullivan shared several updates about Madison and Miguel on Facebook, including multiple photos of the dogs. “He had stayed to protect what was left of his home, and NEVER gave up on his people,” Sullivan wrote of Madison. “He didn’t give up through the storms or the fire.”

Sullivan also created a GoFundMe page for Gaylord. “Madison’s family lost 9 homes in the Camp Fire, as well as their jobs,” the animal rescuer wrote in the GoFundMe description. “I’d like to help them get a leg up so that they can return home as soon as possible.” So far, the fundraiser has raised $95 of its $10,000 goal.

Gaylord lost almost everything in the fire, but it sounds as if she’s just grateful that her dogs are still alive. “Imagine the loyalty of hanging in in the worst of circumstances and being here waiting,” she told ABC 10 of Madison. “You could never ask for a better animal.”

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