(RNN) – When the devastating Camp Fire broke out in Northern California last month, it spread so fast that in many instances people who were away from home didn’t have time to get back and save their possessions and often, tragically, their pets.
One couple who lost their home and were finally able to return to survey the damage this week, though, found their dog Madison waiting for them.
The group K9 Paw Print Rescue posted the story of Madison on Facebook on Thursday.
“Madison’s parents were unable to get home to him when the Camp Fire spread,” K9’s post read. “They hoped and prayed he would be OK. When they finally got clearance to go back to the lot where their house once stood … Madison was waiting there for them as if he were protecting his former home.”
“Never give up!!” the group added.
A volunteer with the group, Shayla Sullivan, explained in the comments that the couple’s other dog, Miguel, had turned up in another town, and she had held out hope that Madison would too.
Sullivan said every time she was allowed inside the burn zone over the last month, she would “put out fresh food and water” for Madison.
She wrote that she “had the idea of placing an article of clothing that would smell like” the dog’s owner, Andrea, “to keep Madison’s hope alive until his people could return.”
“WELL, I’m so HAPPY to report that Andrea was allowed to return to her property today and THERE MADISON WAS!!!!!” Sullivan wrote. “He had stayed to protect what was left of his home, and NEVER gave up on his people! I’m so happy I’m crying as I write this!”
“He didn’t give up through the storms or the fire! A LOOOOOONG month it must have been for him!” she added.
Further into the comments, Sullivan also explained how Miguel was found about an hour away.
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