Family Finds ‘Miracle’ Dog Waiting for Them Outside Home Destroyed by Wildfires: ‘We Were Hoping Against Hope’

BY DIANE HERBST     POSTED ON 

Clint and Kathy Weaver awoke to 30-foot walls of flames surrounding their Sonoma home at around 1 a.m. last Monday. They knew they had to leave right away.

As Clint, 68, ran down the driveway surrounded by heat and flames to unlock their gate to get out, an explosion knocked him into a ditch, breaking his arm. Kathy, 62, followed behind, while holding the collar of their 9-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, Izzy.

So on Tuesday morning, Oct. 10, Jack and his brother-in-law, Patrick Widen, decided to check on the Weavers’ property and “see if by some miracle Izzy survived,” Beckyjean Widen wrote.  

“They were turned away by police officers, but if you know my brother Jack or husband Patrick . . . neither one likes to be told no,” Widen wrote.

Jack, who grew up at the home, knew a way in that would involve jumping a wall, hiking through a creek and walking up a very steep hillside.

The pair wore masks to protect themselves from the heavy smoke. Jack filmed the final minutes of their journey, to show his parents what the property looked like.

So on Tuesday morning, Oct. 10, Jack and his brother-in-law, Patrick Widen, decided to check on the Weavers’ property and “see if by some miracle Izzy survived,” Beckyjean Widen wrote.  

“They were turned away by police officers, but if you know my brother Jack or husband Patrick . . . neither one likes to be told no,” Widen wrote.

Jack, who grew up at the home, knew a way in that would involve jumping a wall, hiking through a creek and walking up a very steep hillside.

The pair wore masks to protect themselves from the heavy smoke. Jack filmed the final minutes of their journey, to show his parents what the property looked like.
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