Madison the Dog: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

A family from Paradise, California, recently returned home after the Camp Fire forced them to evacuate. When the homeowner, Andrea Gaylord, pulled up to the property, her beloved dog Madison was waiting there. “He was guarding what was left of their property,” reported Inside Edition.

Madison, an Anatolian Shepherd, was reunited with his owner and their sweet story has now gone viral.

Here’s what you need to know:

---

1. Gaylord Called Animal Rescue After Being Evacuated

Andrea Gaylord and her husband Bill didn’t have much time to evacuate their home. They were able to grab only a couple of belongings and despite a valiant effort to get the dogs to “come,” the Gaylords were forced to leave without their four-legged friends.

Andrea called Animal Rescue after evacuating to safety in hopes of finding and/or caring for Madison. Last month, she reached out to animal rescue volunteer Shayla Sullivan, who was already caring for Madison’s dog-brother, Miguel.

When she could, Sullivan left food and water outside for Madison. Andrea felt in her heart that Madison was going to be okay — and she was right.

---

2. The Reunion Was Extremely Emotional for Both Gaylord & Sullivan

When Andrea pulled up to her property and saw Madison guarding the grounds, she couldn’t help but get emotional.

“Imagine the loyalty of hanging in in the worst of circumstances and being here waiting. I was so emotional,” she told WKYC.

Sullivan shared similar feelings, bonding with the Gaylords over their pup.

“When I work a disaster to help animals what keeps me going is KNOWING that someone loves them and are on the ‘outside’ hoping their pets are ok. If I can, I obtain a phone number so that I can connect with them and keep them updated on my efforts. When I first called Andrea, we were instantly connected and I continued to call her every day for weeks. She called me first thing when Madison was waiting for her when she returned to her property. We BOTH cried from the joy of her seeing him,” Sullivan wrote on Facebook.

---

3. The Gaylords Lost 9 Homes in the Camp Fire

According to Sullivan, Andrea Gaylord and her family lost nine homes in the Camp Fire.

“The property has been in her family for 100 years this year and it’s all she remembers. She moved to Paradise when she was two years old. She is 75. Bill, her husband, built their home and he was born in Paradise,” Sullivan said in a lengthy Facebook post.

---

4. A GoFundMe Page Has Been set up to Help the Gaylord Family

A GoFundMe page has been set up in an effort to help the Gaylord family rebuild what was destroyed in the deadly Camp Fire. The campaign was set up by Shayla Sullivan, who has become close to the Gaylords over the past couple of weeks.

“One of Andreas granddaughters was fiddling with a glass Christmas tree statue as we were talking. I asked her about it and she said it was ONE of the few things she grabbed before she fled. It was just given to her and she wanted to have it with her, just in case she lost her home. We talked about Christmas, and none of us can even think about it. She smiled while petting her cats and dogs. They were lucky to be able to get their animals out with them. My heart is so heavy for all that they lost. Their spirits inspire me and I’m thinking I would sure love to help them get back. People keep asking me if I need any donations, but honestly, I would love any donations in my honor to go to the fire victims. It is costing them 1000-1200 a month just to live in this little trailer park… Bill and Andrea are on Social Security. The kids didn’t have insurance. Andrea and Bill did, but I KNOW it will NOT be enough to rebuild and live off of until they do. Andrea is disabled and her way around her land was a golf cart. That was burned to the ground just outside her front path. I’ve connected with so many survivors with so many stories. We connected through their pets, but it’s the human side too,” Sullivan’s Facebook post continued.

So far, more than $1,400 has been donated of the $10,000 goal.

---

5. The Camp Fire  Is  California’s Deadliest & Most Destructive Wildfire in History

The Camp Fire started on November 8, 2018. It was named after Camp Creek Road, which is where it started. A total of 85 deaths were reported, with 12 civilian injuries. Five firefighters were injured in the blaze, which burned through more than 153,000 acres.

More than 18,000 structures were damaged. The fire wasn’t completely contained until November 25.

The fire’s cause has not yet been determined and an investigation is said to be ongoing.