When Owensboro Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Leonard is at a fire and the homeowner tells him there's still a family member inside, he's learned to get more information.
"I've heard the phrase, 'My baby is inside,' and the baby turns out to be a 100-pound dog," Leonard said.
"Well over 50 percent" of fires that OFD responds to involve pets, Leonard said.
On May 3, city firefighters rescued a dog from a home on West Parrish Avenue and attempted to perform CPR. The dog later died at a veterinarian's office.
Daviess County Fire Chief Dwane Smeathers said the paid and volunteer crews in the county don't encounter pets as much as firefighters in the city, but they do see house fires with pets inside "fairly often."