LOGANSPORT, Ind. — First responders rescued a dog from a house fire early Wednesday afternoon after neighbors alerted them to its presence.

New Waverly Fire Department Chief Rex Danely said neighbors alerted authorities to the blaze and then told firefighters upon their arrival that there were dogs inside the burning house. The Logansport (Ind.) Pharos-Tribune reported that homeowner, Pat Fry, was not home at the time.

Firefighters were able to locate one dog, a miniature pinscher named Sassy, almost immediately during an initial search. Another miniature pinscher in the home was not discovered until after the fire was contained. Its condition was unclear Thursday.

“Normally we’re looking for human beings, but when we got there, we still did a primary search,” Danely said. “The neighbor said there were animals in the house, and the they knew they were looking for dogs also.”

New Waverly Fire Department Captain Pat Bell said there was heavy smoke showing from first floor windows upon firefighters’ arrival. They entered through the back of the two-story house, he said, before pushing the fire out of the first-floor windows.

Two of Fry’s dogs were inside at the time of the fire.

“I was worried about my babies,” she said. “The house can be replaced but not my babies.”

Fry lived in the home by herself.

“That’s why they mean so much to me,” she said. “They’re my family.”

Sassy was rehydrating and doing well by early Wednesday evening, according to the Cass County Animal Hospital in Logansport.

The Logansport (Ind.) Pharos-Tribune contributed to this story.