CBS News journalist Jonathan Vigliotti rescued three dogs trapped in a home in Pacific Palisades as wildfires approached and neighborhood roads became impassable due to powerful, relentless flames.
Andrea Pasinetti was in San Francisco on business and his wife, Sexuan, was away when news of the Los Angeles wildfires broke on January 7. The dog sitter hired by the couple was unable to reach their home on Lakeman Lane to rescue the animals.
Passinetti told CBS News Hop on a flight back to Los Angeles Immediately he was trying to return home to rescue his dogs Alma, Archie and Hugo. He said his friend picked him up from the airport and they rushed to the Palisades area with fireproof supplies and blankets to rescue his pets.
Once they approached the family home, they struggled to find their way into the neighborhood as police were present at most intersections and not allowing anyone to pass.
“It’s this feeling of helplessness and devastation, and also of the unknown,” he recalls. “Wanting to maintain hope, but also kind of prepare for the worst.”
Passinetti called his wife to discuss what they should do. They decided to either continue searching for a way to reach their home or find someone already within the neighborhood. That’s when they saw CBS News’ Vigliotti near Palisades Charter High School, which was minutes from their home.
They started doing their research to see if they knew anyone who could contact and message the journalist on social media. They eventually found a friend who was a colleague of Vigliotti’s and were able to get a message to the journalist and his crew.
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CBS News producer Christian Duran made the call and sent Vigliotti and his cameraman to the house to rescue the dogs.
“We knew getting the three dogs out of the house was going to be difficult,” Passinetti said. “Jonathan obviously didn’t have a key to the house, so I told him to break any window he could and get into the house.”
Pasinetti’s three pets are rescue dogs, and he explained that they are “pre-equipped with a lot of anxiety,” so he gave Vigliotti their favorite hiding spots around the house.
“The situation has probably never been more dramatic,” Passinetti said. “The house was surrounded by fire. I think it burned down a few hours after he was able to get the puppies.
Vigliotti was able to break the glass on the front door to enter the home and found the three dogs in different areas of the home.
They were able to argue [Alma] He said somehow and I think they threw a blanket over her and kind of covered her up and then they moved on to the second puppy, Archie. “I imagine they had to lift the bed in the master bedroom and get Hugo out.”
Vigliotti was able to load the three dogs into his car with his crew and reunite the pets with their owner.
“Jonathan called and said, ‘We have the dogs,’” Passinetti recalls. “And my first reaction was, ‘Three?’” I had never felt such a combination of joy, relief, exhaustion, despair and gratitude toward someone.
He added: “Three dogs were probably very frightened and facing people they had never seen before. They handled the situation with incredible skill and courage. The generosity and kindness and risk they took to get the dogs was really – I don’t know, I think that’s the best that humanity can offer.
With the dogs safe and sound, the Pasinetti family now faces the devastation of losing their family home. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history, with at least 1,000 buildings burned in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.
—With files from The Associated Press
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