Two cats are proving they really must have nine lives after surviving a ferocious housefire in Melbourne last month.
Dwayne Ariss’ son, Ryan, first alerted him to flames in their two-bedroom Dandenong home on May 24 and the pair had just minutes to escape before the property was completely destroyed.
But once outside, Dwayne realised his two cats, Smokey and Boo, were still inside and thought there was no way they could have survived as he watched the house erupt.
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“I knew the cats were in the kitchen at the time, my son and I got out, but I presumed they were gone,” Dwayne told Today.
But when he returned to the scene the next day to begin the heartbreaking job of seeing if any of his and Ryan’s belongings could be salvaged, Dwayne got the shock of his life.
Thankfully Smokey got out and was found hiding underneath the bonnet of his car.
But with no sign of Boo, Dwayne was afraid of what he might find among the ash and rubble.
“I was in the property for a couple of hours, turning the place upside down and I didn’t expect to find my cat, but the kitchen sink was my last hope,” he said.
“I threw a chunk of the ceiling off the sink and there was Boo – boom mate! Right there in the kitchen sink.”
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Boo was alive and scared, but he had suffered serious burns to all four paws trying to escape the flames.
With his continued treatment expected to run into the thousands of dollars, charity group Pets of the Homeless are helping Dwayne and Ryan get Boo back on the mend.
“We are actually assisting Boo and Dwayne with the vet bills as you can imagine, the burns are really severe and the cost of vet care has skyrocketed,” founder and CEO, Yvonne Hong said.
“It’s not something most people can afford, let alone someone who has lost everything, so we just wanted to do everything we can help.”
Hear what else Dwayne and Yvonne had to say in the video above