PORT ANGELES — In a fire that melted even their cast iron pans, 22 years of belongings went up in flames.
But, said Peggy Western, she and her husband Mike found after the fire died down at their home at 1218 W. 11th St., in Port Angeles, that they hadn’t lost everything.
“She’s a miracle dog,” Peggy said on Wednesday.
Both Peggy and Mike Western had escaped the 1:45 a.m. fire that began probably in a barbecue grill on the back deck, said Port Angeles Fire Marshal Ken Dubuc.
“We were sitting 4 feet away from that door until about 11 that night,” Peggy said.
“I don’t know how it started.”
Peggy had fallen asleep in her clothes and glasses, so when she broke a window and pulled herself through, she she was dressed — and could watch devastation all too well.
Mike had fled the flaming house in a T-shirt and underwear.
Their 4-year-old purebred pug, ImperialPrincessTangoMoonYu — Tango, for short — didn’t make it out.
Both were sure that she was lost in the fire.
Later that day, when they returned to the charred remains of the 1,800-square-foot, one-story house, firefighters told them they had seen the dog inside.
Tango came to front door when called.
