Carmen is on a respirator and fighting for her life after attempting to save her human from a house fire on Thursday.
The entire city of Cincinnati, Ohio, is rooting for the 9-year-old boxer who was discovered on top of her father, 33-year-old Ben Ledford, after a fire broke out at their house in the adjacent suburb of Goshen Township.
Carmen refused to leave Ledford even when first responders arrived on the scene. According to WCPO, she was discovered trying to conceal his face from the blaze.
Ledford died quickly after being pulled from the fire, but his loyal Carmen is sedated and linked up to a ventilator at Cincinnati Care Center, an animal hospital, where a team of veterinarians is fighting to save her. Her vitals were steady as of Monday afternoon.
Ben Ledford and Carmen (Facebook)
Dr. Daniel Carey, an emergency vet at Cincinnati Care, told WCPO that Carmen is fortunate that the only organ damage she incurred from the fire was to her lungs, and that she is “doing as well as can be anticipated” given what she has been through.
Even as they mourn, Ledford’s human relatives and friends are working tirelessly to save Carmen. They’ve launched a fundraising page to assist cover Carmen’s medical expenditures, and they’ve also expressed their heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has contributed:
“As we mourn the passing of Carmen’s owner, our brother Ben, it is reassuring to know that Carmen has been receiving the finest possible care. We will continue to offer information on our lovely, sweet daughter as we get them.”
Carmen’s vets think she’ll be able to breathe on her own soon, but she’s not out of the woods yet. Cincinnati Cares has been updating their Facebook page with Carmen’s progress, and they’re asking everyone to “maintain Carmen and her whole human family in your thoughts and prayers.”