A couple in Los Angeles had no notion that their neighborhood might experience wildfires, endangering their pets, when they traveled for separate out-of-state travels. Luckily, two CBS staff members were available to help.
A local family was gone from home on January 7, 2025, when the Palisades flames started in Los Angeles. Their three dogs were left with a dogsitter who got trapped on the roads that led to their home.
Reports state that when the flames started, Andrea Pasinetti was in San Francisco on business and his wife, Sixuan, was abroad. As nearby houses on Lachman Lane were damaged by the fires, the three dogs were left on their own.
In an attempt to save their pets, Hugo, Archie, and Alma, Andrea promptly arranged a trip back to Los Angeles. “The flight into [Los Angeles] was definitely very, very hard because we just didn’t have any information,” he told CBS News while in a hotel room.
In preparation for the rescue, a friend picked him up at the airport with blankets and fire-retardant equipment. They hurried to the Palisades, but because there were “cops at most intersections,” they had trouble getting in after eight minutes.
“It’s this feeling of helplessness and devastation and also just the unknown,” Andrea said of his emotions at the moment. hoping for the best but also preparing for the worst.
As he talked to his wife on the phone, they came to the conclusion that either Andrea would figure out a way to get to the house or someone else would have to get in. Sixuan, meanwhile, was watching the news when she saw Jonathan Vigliotti, a correspondent for CBS News, reporting from Palisades Charter High School.
Since the school was close to their house, they started attempting to get in touch with the reporter. They first sent him tweets before contacting his friend and colleague.
Jonathan received the message from his friend, Christian Duran, a producer with CBS News. After that, the two agreed to cooperate in order to save the Pasinetti dogs. They courageously made their way to the family’s home, which Andrea subsequently said was “on its last legs.”
“We knew it was a tall order to extract all three dogs from the house,” the dog owner said. Another difficulty was that neither of the two guys had a key, but Andrea allowed them to access the house by breaking any windows if needed.
Andrea claims that the three rescued canines were “pre-wired with a lot of anxiety.” It was challenging to rescue them because Hugo was hiding behind a bed and Alma was close to the door.
Before focusing on Archie, the CBS News crew was able to get Alma under control—Andrea thought they covered her with a blanket to soothe and carry her. “I imagine they had to lift the bed in the primary bedroom and extract Hugo,” the Palisades resident continued.
Jonathan and Christian put themselves at danger to save the dogs in spite of the house being engulfed in flames. Only a few hours after the dogs were saved, Andrea found out that the house had burned down. Hearing that all three dogs were safe stunned him.
“I have never experienced that combination of happiness, relief, tiredness, hopelessness, and thankfulness for someone,” Andrea thought. “The generosity, kindness, and risk they took to obtain the dogs was really — I think it’s the best that humanity has to offer,” he added.
The experience caused him to consider his priorities in life. “I think we accumulate a lot of stuff and sort through our possessions throughout our lives, but in the end, it’s all stuff,” he said. “Although it’s sad to lose, I think the possibility and prospect of losing something much more important just put it into perspective.”
The Palisades resident also thanked first responders and firefighters for their valiant attempts to save homes. Despite the continuing chaos, one firefighter even offered to drive him to his home that evening.
Because they risked their lives, he believed these heroes deserved all the accolades. Later, a video of Andrea’s story including the dogs that Jonathan and Christian had saved was uploaded by CBS News.
In order to express his sincere appreciation, Andrea posted a picture of himself with his dogs and praised the two CBS staff members for going above and above to “keep our family whole.”
Additionally, Jonathan shared a video of Andrea sharing his story, writing, “This happened in the chaos of Tuesday night.” My producer and I nearly skipped the event. We had a mistaken belief that the house and the pets would be alright.
The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website reports that the Palisades wildfires have caused 177 wildfires, 40,696 acres of fire, over 12,300 destroyed structures, 27,799 emergency responses, and 24 fatalities.
