Firefighter revives dog rescued from house fire

Fire department shows Calif. firefighter in action

Jack the dog is recovering well after a Bakersfield, California, firefighter rescued him from a house fire and resuscitated him with a special oxygen mask.

Bakersfield Fire Department firefighter Matt Smith found 2-year-old Jack whimpering behind a couch, KERO reported. The pup became unresponsive, so Smith gave the dog oxygen and administered CPR to resuscitate him.

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The fire department posted a video of Smith reviving Jack. It's been viewed more than 600,000 times on the department's Facebook page, shared more than 9,000 times and has been picked up by news outlets around the world. 

Smith said he was just glad he could help out. He was surprised that the video of the rescue drew a global response. 

"It's always good to do something for somebody else," Smith told KERO. "We knew the owner was really concerned about him and asking us to look for him, so its good that it turned out good."

Smith reunited with the dog at a local vet hospital, where Jack's owner, Jeff Garnett, expressed his gratitude.

"You know, like I said, I can't thank you guys enough," Smith said. "He was unable to do anything with himself. If it wasn’t for these guys, these firemen, getting him out, he wouldn’t be here.  We wouldn’t be standing here now. He's been my number one concern."

According to the fire department, Jack's condition had "significantly improved" by Thursday. He suffered some respiratory tract injuries and burns on his feet.

The Garnett family is staying at a hotel until they figure out next steps, KERO reported.