Last Saturday, the popular TV show “To The Rescue” visited Rescue Ranch to meet Lava Fire burn dog, Lady. You might recall that Lady sustained third-degree burns and would certainly have died if Ari Savar and his fellow firefighters had not saved her. The next day, she was turned over to Siskiyou County Animal Control officers who delivered her into our care.
“To The Rescue” producers originally heard about Rescue Ranch from dedicated volunteer Eric Anderson. They were very interested in Lady’s incredible story. We worked with Segment Producer Lauren Miles to arrange for a camera crew to come meet Lady and Ari.
That was back in mid-September. We had hoped for an October shoot, but with all of the fires still burning in the region, Ari didn’t have much free time. There are so many moving parts to production that scheduling can get quite complicated. Everyone has to be available at the same time, on the same day and for several hours. Finally, we settled on November 19.
Experienced wildlife videographer Jake Willers, of NineCaribou Productions, traveled to Yreka from Nevada. Ari and his girlfriend, Shaylee Peirce, brought Lady up from Shasta. Rescue Ranch Executive Director John Golay was also scheduled for an interview.
When Jake arrived, the ranch was bathed in heavy fog. It was unclear whether it would lift before he started recording. Luckily, while he was setting up, the sun came through and we could tell that it was going to be a beautiful day.
Still capturing hearts, Lady is feeling good and ready to play!
When the time came, Jake shot the first interview with John. Lauren asked questions from a laptop via Zoom. Then it was Ari’s turn. For that portion of the shoot, we took Lady off to the side and tried to keep her occupied. It wasn’t easy to get her attention; even at a distance, she stayed focused on Ari’s location.
Then came the fun part. Scarred but fully recovered from her burns, our girl was ready to play. Jake got some great handheld shots of Lady and Ari together in the yard. It turns out that she absolutely loves to fetch. She chased the ball down and leapt for it, over and over again. She seemed happy to ham it up for the camera.
Rescue Ranch staff and volunteers were glad to catch up and to see how well Lady is doing in Ari’s care. It was a fun day for all involved.
Before wrapping, Jake captured good B-roll footage of the ranch, including some cool drone shots. There should be a lot of good material to choose from for the final edit.
“To The Rescue” airs on weekends around the country. You can check their website for TV listings and to watch archived episodes online. We’re super grateful to the entire production team for covering Lady’s story.
