Altadena, California — It’s a sight Ted Koerner fears he may never see again after his house burns down: his beloved golden retriever, Daisy May, playing in his backyard, under the shade of a 175-year-old heritage oak tree.
A year ago, the wind also swept Eaton fire When Koerner moved into the house, he ran away with 12-year-old Daisy Mae, grabbing a few pairs of T-shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts, a pillow and two pictures of the dog. He drove away as the fire was at the end of his street in Altadena.
Koerner and Daisy Mae spent the first weeks in a hotel with hundreds of others after the Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed thousands of homes and killed 31 people. They went for a walk, the hardened ash crunching under his feet and paws.
“Those first few weeks were absolutely devastating,” he said.
His greatest fear was losing Daisy Mae before he could go through the arduous and expensive rebuilding process. Koerner lived alone with the 75-pound snowy white dog for 12 years. He takes it with him to restaurants – even five-star steakhouses – without a leash.
For about a year, Koerner raced against time to rebuild his home. He liquidated most of his retirement holdings so he could hire contractors quickly while he waited for his mortgage servicing company to issue his insurance payments.
He gave the builder enough money “to build at record speed, because I need to get home with my dog before she dies,” he remembers telling his mortgage servicing company early on. “Because if she dies, I don’t want to come here. And this is a very, very, very special dog.”
The first time Corner brought Daisy Mae in after construction had begun, the house was framed with a roof and openings for windows and doors.
“She walked right to where the front door was supposed to be, and she walked right into the house, and she walked around the house, and she walked to the sliding door of the master bedroom, which was a great big opening, just like it was supposed to be, and she sat down and had a big smile on her face, and she said, ‘Well, the house is still here,'” he said.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, his house was among the first to be rebuilt Thousands destroyed by wildfires in the Los Angeles area a year ago. Construction took just over four months.
“I went home and cried a lot,” Koerner said. “It still has that effect. I’m actually home with my dog.”