ALTADENA, Calif. – Ted Koerner thought he might never again witness a scene so dear to him: his beloved golden retriever, Daisy Mae, frolicking in the backyard beneath the ancient shade of a 175-year-old Heritage Oak, after their home was lost to fire.
About a year ago, as the fierce winds drove the Eaton Fire toward his neighborhood, Koerner made a hurried escape with Daisy Mae, then 12 years old. With only a few essentials—a couple of sweatpants, long-sleeve shirts, a pillow, and two cherished photos of his dog—he left just as the fire reached the end of his street in Altadena.
In the aftermath, Koerner and Daisy Mae found temporary refuge in a hotel, joining hundreds of others displaced by the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, which claimed 31 lives and razed thousands of homes. On their walks, the ground crunched beneath their feet, a remnant of the fires’ destructive path.
“The initial weeks were indescribably heartbreaking,” Koerner reflected.
Koerner’s main concern was the fear of losing Daisy Mae before completing the arduous and expensive task of rebuilding. For 12 years, she has been his steadfast companion, accompanying him everywhere—even to upscale steakhouses—without needing a leash.
Desperate to reconstruct his home, Koerner poured his efforts into the endeavor for nearly a year. He dipped into his retirement funds to expedite the hiring of contractors, all while awaiting the release of his insurance payout from the mortgage company.
He gave the builder enough money “to build at record speed, because I need to get home with my dog before she passes,” he recalled telling his mortgage servicing company early on. “Because if she passes, I don’t want to come here. And this is a very, very, very special dog.”
The first time Koerner brought Daisy Mae after construction started, the house was framed, with a roof and openings for windows and doors.
“She walked right over to where the front door was supposed to be, went right in the house, walked around the house, walked over to what was the master bedroom sliding door, which was a great big opening, just like it would have been, and sat down and got a big smile on her face and went, ‘OK, the house is still here,’ ” he said.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, his home was among the first to be rebuilt of the thousands destroyed in the Los Angeles area wildfires a year ago. Construction took just over four months.
“I went into the house and cried a lot,” Koerner said. “It still has that effect. I’m actually home with my dog. ”
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