A potential tragedy held a silver lining for one Collinsville family and their six-month-old ”miracle” golden retriever, Birdie. After an Oct. 19 fire in the 400 block of Hackney Street in Collinsville claimed the homes of Brent Conger and a neighbor, Conger was thrilled to learn his family’s beloved pup was rescued, unscathed, from the fire.
While Birdie spends most of her days at Spades Vintage Streetwear in downtown Sherman with Conger, her days off are spent at home relaxing. However, the morning of Oct. 19, Birdie’s day off was anything but relaxing.
Conger had gone to the golf course when his phone started pinging with messages from friends and family alerting him to a house fire on his street. It wasn’t long before he learned the upsetting news that his home was one of the structures involved.
Despite the fact that the fire was destroying his family’s livelihood, Conger’s first concern was to save the family pets. Inside the house were Sugar, the family’s cat, and Birdie. Sadly, Sugar was unable to be rescued, but first responders were able to locate Birdie kenneled in her crate in the master bedroom.
Conger said he keeps blankets on top of Birdie’s crate at night as an added sense of comfort for the pup. Firefighters said those blankets played a crucial part in sparing the dog’s life.
Thankfully, Birdie the miracle dog was able to walk away from the incident without injury and, days later, was right back at work by Conger’s side. Walking away from the fire with the furry family member by their side was a huge help in boosting the family’s morale.
”Me and my family are in high spirits, and we’re looking at this situation as the next step forward,” Conger said.
