Tearful reunion for man, pet dog following Palisades Fire evacuations
Jan 12, 2025
A man whose home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire had a tearful reunion with his beloved dog after it ran away amid evacuation orders.
Casey Colvin broke down in tears when a dog tracker helped him locate his pooch, Oreo, on Sunday. The pooch was spotted sleeping among the debris and rubble that left what was once Colvin’s neighbor’s house.
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With a squeaky toy in one hand and his other dog under his other arm, Colvin approached the gate of his neighbor’s home, where Oreo was sitting atop the driveway. Coaxing Oreo to approach him, Colvin’s sweet coos convinced Oreo to head down the driveway and into his owner’s arms. Overcome with emotion, Colvin yelled and cheered that his pet was back with him.
Filled with gratitude, Colvin also thanked NBC News Correspondent Liz Kreutz, who captured the heartwarming reunion on video.
“Where’s NBC? Where’s NBC? Oh thank you, Liz,” Colvin wailed.
The desperate search for Oreo began Tuesday when much of Pacific Palisades was ordered to evacuate amid the raging brush fire. Colvin, who was at work at the time the alert was issued, spent five hours trying to get through traffic in an attempt to return home and save his dogs.
It was during his effort to get home that Colvin met Kreutz.
“I literally rescued them off the street,” a tearful Colvin told Kreutz about his dogs. “They deserve better than that. How do I get to my house?”
When the pet parent was unable to reach his home, a firefighter offered to go to his property and search for his dogs. Thankfully, the firefighter was able to save Colvin’s dog, Tika Tika Tika, but Oreo ran away.
Just hours later, Colvin’s home burned down.
Determined to find Oreo, Colvin posted fliers about his dog’s disappearance and Kreutz posted about the pooch on her Instagram account. There were reports of sightings by his neighbors and finally, a dog tracker was able to lead Colvin to his missing pet on Sunday.
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