Heroic dog dies saving owner's eight-month-old baby from house fire
Polo the dog protected baby Viviana from the flames by bravely shielding her with his body
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A family dog has died saving an eight-month-old baby girl from a house fire in Baltimore, Maryland.
Polo the dog protected baby Viviana from the flames by bravely shielding her with his body, giving his life rather than running away to safety as the home was gutted.
Erika Poremski, Viviana's mother, had stepped out of the terraced house for a few minutes during which a fierce fire broke out, kron4 reported.
Ms Poremski said: "I couldn’t get to her, and I tried really hard.
"Everybody in the neighbourhood tried. They were kicking the doors in, kicking the windows out, and it was just … I couldn’t ... no one could.
"Viviana only had burns on her side because of it, and Polo stayed with her the whole time in the bedroom and wouldn’t even come downstairs to get out the door."
While Polo died before firefighters could reach him, paramedics were able to revive Viviana, who suffered burns to 19 per cent of her body, including severe burns to her face and limbs.
Viviana is now in a hospital intensive care unit, her mother said.
Nearly $16,000 (£12,100) has been raised over three days on the GoFundMe website to help the family recover from losing their home and having to meet ongoing hospital bills.
Ms Poremski thanked people for their generosity and said of her daughter: "She’s doing the best she can right now, and she’s fighting and that’s it.
"She’s a really good girl, and I just … I hope she’s okay."
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments