When paramedic and firefighter for Lake Country Fire and Rescue Amber Christian got the call that she'd be rescuing over 50 puppies from a plane crash, the dog-lover knew it had the potential to be one of the worst calls of her career.
On Nov. 15, a plane carrying dozens of shelter dogs from Louisiana to the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha crashed on to the Western Lakes Golf Club course in the town of Delafield. At the scene, Christian took a deep breath and fell back on her training, she said, and the potentially worst call ended up leading her to meet her newly adopted puppy, Artemis.
The three people on board, and all 53 dogs, survived with minor injuries. Christian wasn't the only one to adopt a puppy ― over the following days, several first responders adopted one of the dogs they rescued.
The second that Lake Country EMT and firefighter Elle Steitzer got to the scene, she knew she wanted to adopt one of the puppies.
"I couldn't have not adopted him," Steitzer said of her puppy, Lucky. "I'm going to be thinking about these little guys for the rest of my life."
While Steitzer is an animal-lover, she said, Lucky is the first dog she's ever owned.
"I didn't know if I was a dog person or a cat person, but now I know I'm a lucky person," she said.