‘I don’t appreciate what they did…’ Pet owner questions if firefighters did more harm

A San Antonio pet-owner mourning the death of his dog is now asking tough questions about how first responders stepped in to help.

It was the woman next door who called the fire department, when she saw her neighbor's dog stuck in his front yard fence.

She called Fox SA's Problem Solver Darian Trotter to sort out what if anything went wrong.

“It really broke my heart, i couldn't even work that day,” said Sarah Martinez.

July 17th is a day Sarah Martinez won't soon forget.

It's the day she noticed her neighbor's dog was stuck in a wire fence.

It was the second time on the same day.

“I happened to look outside and I saw her head stuck in the fence again,” Martinez said.

Earlier that day, her lawn crew used pliers to cut the wire and free the dog.

This time, Sarah was on her own. Helpless.

“I wish someone was around that could help me and nobody was around,” Martinez said.

The dog's owner Roland Trevino was at a doctor's appointment, unaware his neighbor was struggling to help his dog in distress.

“She was struggling, she was struggling trying to get out,” Martinez said. “She was trying to get her head out, back out and she couldn't.”

Thinking on her feet, Sarah called Animal Care Services hoping they'd send help.

“They said it would be maybe another hour or two by the time they get to her and I said well, she doesn't have an hour,” Martinez recounted. “I need someone like now.”

Her plan B was a long-shot, but the clock was ticking.

The unusually large dachshund was starting to show signs of fatigue.

Sara called the San Antonio Fire Department, and in short order a 2-member crew showed up to help.

Sarah says they weren't moving fast enough.

“They were just looking at her,” Martinez said. “I was thinking omg do something.”

She says it took awhile longer before they came up with a plan of action.

“They squeezed her head, they squeezed her head to get her to the other side and they did,” Martinez said.

Investigative Reporter Darian Trotter asked, “It was uncomfortable to watch? Yes and that moment they said ma'am I don't know if she'll survive,” Martinez replied.

Sarah did everything she could to keep the dog comfortable; by giving her water and moving her into the shade.

Within minutes, she watched as the dog died from apparent heat exhaustion.

“Devastating, I don't even have a pet but that was very devastating,” Martinez said.

Roland Trevino said, “I feel sad because I miss her.”

When we met with Roland he was rotating through three stages of grief.

Anger over how firefighters handled things.

“What they did was squeeze her head and pushed it out,” Trevino said. “When they did that they probably broke her neck.”

Depression from losing a loved one and acceptance, trying to cope.

“With all my heart and I still feel for her,” Trevino said.

Both Sarah and Roland can't help but question why firefighters didn't use wire cutters.

“I don't know what all they had in their truck, but I'm sure there could have been pliers or something small, because all they had was the ax,” Martinez said.

Trevino said, “If they couldn't do anything they should have called in, hey we need some pliers or something.”

They turned to the Problem Solver to get answers.

First, we asked about ACS' response time.

It was explained in a statement “Crews are dispatched based on the critical nature of the call and staff capacity. In this case, the city responded within an hour with support from SAFD, and the dog was removed from the fence.”

Still, Roland repeats his point of view.

“They should have some kind of equipment a box if they're going to come and help to cut the wire,” Trevino said.

Next, we turned to SAFD.

We asked, given the nature of they call, should they have been better prepared or perhaps taken a different approach.

Spokesman Joe Arrington said in a statement, “Tools were in the truck, but were not needed. Crews determined cutting the fence could have physically hurt the dog.”

Here's a dose of reality, most fire departments across the country no longer rescue dogs and cats. Instead, most reserve resources to be ready to respond to human emergencies.

Trotter asked, “What do you say to them for a least trying to help? Well, I appreciate it, but I don't appreciate what they did to my dog,” Trevino replied.

SAFD went on to say crews gave the dog the best chance of survival by freeing it from the fence.

They documented the pet showed signs of heat-related stress from being left outside for a long period of time.

We checked, the temperature July 17th was 97 degrees with a feels like temp of 111.

As for Roland, ACS says they're always willing to help with adopting a new companion.

The agency hosts adoptions seven days a week.