Dog stays behind with family's goats as California wildfire destroys property
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Odin, a Great Pyrenees, protected eight bottle-fed rescue goats during the wildfires in Sonoma County.
A guard dog is on the mend Sunday after heroically protecting eight rescue goats and several small deer from the wildfires raging through California's Sonoma County.
Roland Hendel said he thought he'd never see Odin, a Great Pyrenees, ever again. He packed the car and escaped with his family as the ferocious wildfires were advancing on his home near Calistoga early last week.
“Despite the sounds of exploding propane tanks, twisting metal, and the hot swirling winds, Odin refused to leave our family of eight bottle-fed rescue goats," Hendel said. “Hours later when we had found relative safety we cried for Odin and our goats. I was sure I had sentenced them to a horrific and agonizing death.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Days later, he returned to his property, which had been decimated by the fire, fearing the worst.
“We found a burned, battered, and weakened Odin, surrounded by his eight goats, and several small deer who had come to him for protection and safety,” Hendel said.
FAMILY DOG EMERGES ALIVE AND WELL FROM CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Odin was weak, and limping, his once thick and beautiful coat singed orange, his whiskers melted. Even now as I write this, I am crying tears of gratitude and awe at his bravery and devotion.”
Hendel had a brief scare Wednesday when Odin, his sister Tessa, and the goats disappeared.
They were located Saturday, KGO-TV reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Oh blessed be. They are back," Hendel wrote on Facebook after they were found.
Hendel is appealing on a crowdfunding website for money to rebuild his property’s pumphouse and goat barn, The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Sunday.