A stranger used bolt cutters to rescue a four-year-old pit bull from a burning van on Los Angeles’ Skid Row after a person allegedly threw a flammable object into the vehicle.
Rosie was chained to the van, which was being used as a home by her owner, Clara Catron, when it caught fire early on Thursday. Surveillance footage appears to show a person in a white hoodie and black trousers throwing an object inside.
The unidentified passer-by ran towards the vehicle and cut Rosie free before she could be trapped by the flames. The rescue was later pieced together by John Kim, who owns Bee Bee Food nearby and reviewed his security cameras.
Catron said Rosie was not simply a pet but her closest companion, and that the dog had helped protect her during previous attempts to break into the van.
“Rosie is my baby… she’s my life,” Catron said. “If she would have died, I wouldn’t have wanted to make it.”
She said the fire made her realise how vulnerable she would have been had she been asleep inside the van.
“What if I was asleep?” she said. “I would have never made it out.”
Estela Lopez, executive director of the Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District, said Rosie had been seconds from death and described the incident as evidence of wider safety problems in the area.
Lopez said untreated mental illness, addiction and what she called “lawlessness” were contributing to repeated incidents on Skid Row. She urged city officials to prioritise enforcement, mental health support and drug treatment for people living on the streets.
“It’s not enough to give a dog a leash,” Lopez said. “You need to protect these dogs and the people who are down here from the violence and the lawlessness that is an everyday occurrence on Skid Row.”
Investigation into burning van rescue
The office of Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said the circumstances would be investigated and that the city took allegations of animal cruelty seriously.
Los Angeles has made permanent a partnership between Los Angeles Animal Services and the Los Angeles Police Department to investigate suspected animal cruelty on Skid Row and in surrounding areas. More than 100 officers have received specialist training through the initiative, according to the mayor’s office.
“If you abuse or neglect an animal, you will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” the office said.
Kim said fires and other dangerous incidents had become so frequent that he had grown accustomed to them.
“Honestly, I don’t have too many reactions anymore because it happens too many times,” he said.
Rosie survived the fire, while a GoFundMe appeal has been established to support Catron.
