When a couple from Los Angeles went on separate out-of-state trips, they had no idea their neighborhood would be hit by wildfires, putting their dogs at risk. Fortunately, two CBS employees were ready to aid.
A local family was away from home on January 7, 2025, when the Palisades fire broke out in Los Angeles. Their three dogs were left with a dog sitter, who became stuck on the roads leading to their house.
According to reports, Andrea Pasinetti was in San Francisco on business when the fire broke out, while his wife, Sixuan, was abroad. The three canines were left alone because surrounding residences on Lachman Lane had been destroyed by the fires.
Andrea immediately scheduled a return trip to Los Angeles in an attempt to save their dogs, Hugo, Archie, and Alma. “The flight into [Los Angeles] was definitely very, very hard because we just didn’t have any information,” he told CBS News from his hotel room.
In preparation for the rescue, a buddy met him at the airport with blankets and fire-fighting supplies. They ran to the Palisades, but “cops at most intersections” prevented them from entering after eight minutes.
“It’s this feeling of helplessness, devastation, and also just the unknown,” Andrea stated of his current sentiments. He hopes for the best, but is also prepared for the worst.
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As he spoke with his wife on the phone, they concluded that either Andrea would find a way into the house or someone else would have to get in. Sixuan, in the meantime, was watching the news when she noticed Jonathan Vigliotti, a CBS News journalist, reporting from Palisades Charter High.
Since the school was near their residence, they began attempting to contact the reporter. They initially sent him tweets before contacting his buddy and coworker.
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Jonathan received the message from his buddy Christian Duran, a CBS News producer. After that, the two resolved to work together to preserve the Pasinetti dogs. They bravely made their way to the family’s home, which Andrea later said was “on its last legs.”
The dog owner acknowledged that extracting all three dogs from the house was a challenging task. Another issue was that neither of the two men had a key, yet Andrea authorized them to enter the house by shattering whatever windows were necessary.
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Andrea says the three rescued dogs were “prewired with a lot of anxiety.” It was difficult to rescue them since Hugo was hiding behind a bed and Alma was near the entrance.
Before focusing on Archie, the CBS News crew was able to calm Alma down—Andrea believed they covered her with a blanket to comfort and carry her. “I imagine they had to lift the bed in the primary bedroom and extract Hugo,” the Palisades resident explained.
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Despite the fact that the home was on fire, Jonathan and Christian risked their lives to rescue the dogs. Just a few hours after the dogs’ rescue, Andrea learned that the house had burned down. The news that all three dogs had survived stunned him.
“I have never experienced that combination of happiness, relief, tiredness, hopelessness, and thankfulness for someone,” she remembered. “The generosity, kindness, and risk they took to obtain the dogs was really—I think it’s the best that humanity has to offer,” he told reporters.
The event made him reconsider his life’s priorities. “I think we accumulate a lot of stuff and sort through our possessions throughout our lives; in the end, it’s all stuff,” according to him. “Although it’s sad to lose, I think the possibility and prospect of losing something much more important just put it into perspective.”
The Palisades resident also hailed first responders and firemen for their heroic efforts to preserve houses. Despite the continued pandemonium, one firefighter volunteered to transport him home that evening.
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He thought that because they risked their lives, these warriors deserved every award. Later, CBS News posted a video of Andrea’s tale, which included the dogs that Jonathan and Christian had saved.
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Andrea expressed his heartfelt gratitude by posting a photo of himself with his dogs and thanking the two CBS staff members for going above and beyond to “keep our family whole.”
Jonathan also tweeted a video of Andrea telling his story, captioned “This happened in the chaos of Tuesday night.” My producer and I almost skipped the event. We had mistakenly assumed that the house and dogs would be fine.
According to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website, the Palisades flames resulted in 177 wildfires, 40,696 acres of fire, more than 12,300 damaged houses, 27,799 emergency responses, and 24 fatalities.