A puppy rescued by firefighters in Buffalo, New York, has a forever home thanks to one of the men who saved her from the streets.
“I may have adopted her, but my whole crew helped save her,” Anthony Pulvino, 30, of the Buffalo Fire Department, told Fox News Digital.
Pulvino said two teenagers showed up last month at the firehouse doors of Engine Co. 19 with a puppy in their arms — and said they were looking for help.
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“I opened the door and saw the dog and told them to bring it inside,” Pulvino said.
“Then, I called my lieutenant and the other guys in my crew.”
The kids told the firefighters of the 2nd Platoon that the tiny puppy had been hit by a car near the intersection of Forest and Grant, one block away from the firehouse.
The dog had no collar or identification.
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“One of her rear legs was a little messed up, but she didn’t seem [to be] in too much pain,” Pulvino said.
“She did have a lot of road rash, so we treated her, kind of cleaned up her cuts,” he added.
The firefighters put a pillow inside a box, tucked the puppy in and ultimately decided to take her to the emergency vet.
Pulvino, who has been a firefighter for two-and-a-half years, said he’d been thinking about getting a puppy — so he felt an immediate connection to the little one.
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“I left my phone number and said if nobody claims her, I’d love to take her,” Pulvino said.
“I had told the guys, ‘I really want a puppy.’ And they said, ‘Yeah, you could bring her to the house any time.”
A week later, Pulvino’s wish came true when he got a call from the vet, asking if he’d like to adopt the pup.
“She just kind of fell right into my hands,” he said.
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When Pulvino picked her up, the dog was missing a leg.
“She fractured her back right leg and had brush burn from the road,” Pulvino said.
“So, they did have to take one of her legs.”
But you’d never know it, Pulvino said.
“She’s doing great,” he said. “You would not even know she has three legs. I brought her to Knox Farms the other day, and she was sprinting around faster than some of the four-legged dogs there.”
And she acquired a meaningful name — Auburn — suggested by the wife of one of his fellow firefighters.
“[Firefighter Trevor] Dugan’s wife came up with it because I was trying to think of a firehouse name,” he said.
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“We actually had a fire on Auburn and West during the shift when the puppy was brought in. So, we named her Auburn.”
Pulvino said he now brings her to the firehouse all the time, and the teens who found her have come by to check on her.
Auburn is enjoying a bit of fame.
“When I’m walking down the street, everybody recognizes her now,” Pulvino said.
“She’s great with kids. Great with other dogs. I have cats, too, and she’s even good with them, but they don’t really like her.”
Pulvino said he’s glad he was at the right place at the right time.
“The fire department’s there to help people, and we love it,” he said.
“If an animal is hurt, people should call animal control. But if they don’t have anywhere else to go at that moment, we’ll help them figure it out from there.”
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