A four-legged fire victim is making a good recovery thanks to quick work from some local firefighters.

Moo, a large 10-year-old black-and-white mixed breed dog, wagged her tail emphatically as she greeted visitors Friday morning at a local veterinary hospital.

“She is very lucky,” veterinarian Ann Turner said. “Those guys did a really fantastic job with her.”

Firefighters rescued Moo from a burning home in the 1400 block of West Pennsylvania Extension Thursday night, after she alerted her owner to the danger.

“She (homeowner) was watching TV, when she kept hearing something hitting the door,” Southern Pines Fire Chief Hampton Williams said. “She thought someone was at the front door, and when she went to the door and opened it, she saw the flames and called 911.”

The owner was the only person in the house, fire officials said. She escaped the fire unharmed, but when firefighters arrived at 9:45 p.m., Moo was still inside.

After Capt. Paul Padgett and Adam Coles helped carry the dog from the building, Dee Johnson, Trent Van Boskerck and Logan DeBerry cared for the animal. Van Boskerck is with the Southern Pines department, and DeBerry is an Aberdeen firefighter.

“I felt for a pulse, and I didn’t find one,” said Johnson, a five-year veteran of the Pinehurst Fire Department. “I started CPR, and we began compressions. I felt for a pulse again and she had one.”

The firefighters utilized animal rescue masks to perform CPR on the dog, who was nicknamed “Smokey” by veterinary doctors and staff when she arrived at the hospital.

Brad Strickland and Matt Litzinger transported Moo to the Small Animal Emergency Service veterinary hospital on U.S. 1, while firefighters continued to battle the blaze. The dog was moved next door to the Sandhills Pet Resort Friday.

Firefighters kept the fire contained to the garage, but the house suffered extensive smoke damage.

Williams said Friday morning that the fire, which apparently started in the garage, did about $50,000 damage to the home.

“Its still under investigation but appears to be of an electrical nature,” Williams said.

As for Moo, Turner, said she has “a bit of a cough” but suffered no other injuries related to the fire.

It is unknown if the family with return to claim the animal, but Johnson, who has two dogs of her own, is helping out. She arranged for Moo to get her shots updated and even agreed to pay for the animal to get a bath and have her nails clipped.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure the dog is taken care of,” Johnson said.

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.