An Altadena man and his beloved golden retriever are homeward bound after completing the first fully rebuilt house since the Eaton Fire.
The one-story, 2,160-square-foot home took just four months and five days to finish, thanks to homeowner Ted Koerner’s determination to get his 13-year-old dog, Daisy May, back under her own roof.
Daisy is a fifth generation European national grand champion golden retriever bred in Russia and part of an animal cancer study run by the Morris Animal Foundation.
“This dog eats Atlantic salmon every day and drinks mountain spring water that’s $3.50 a bottle, every day of her life,” said Koerner.
“She is that important to me, she has saved me many times and I consider her to be a living angel, ” he told The Post.
When Koerner evacuated his home during the Eaton fire he felt compelled to save some prized photos of Daisy. “I grabbed two photographic prints that were in very elegant frames that were taken when she was two years old. Taken up in the snow on Thanksgiving day.”
He also had oil paintings of Daisy in the house done by Disney illustrators and carvings of her in bronze that were not saved. All that was left was a chimney and a pile of rubble when be started building again.
Koerner was presented with the first certificate of occupancy by LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Wednesday.
“You truly are a champion. You’re a survivor — but more importantly, you are back in your home. Some place you were determined to get back into by the holidays, and it shall be,” Supervisor Barger said at a press conference, according to ABC News.
The quaint home, featuring three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an attached garage, and a patio, is a far cry from the tiny hotel room Koerner had to live in with Daisy after their evacuation.
“Make a decision once and go on to the next decision,” Koerner said. “First of all, I painted it all one color so you can paint it in three days. Spray-paint the house four times and be done with it. I could live in a tent — I told the builder I could live in a tent, no problem. I don’t care. I’m 67 years old, what’s the difference? I wasn’t trying to build a mansion. They built me one. They built me a palace because they built this house with love,” he told ABC News.
More homes are expected to be completed soon, the county said at a press conference.
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