Puppy pulled from rubble following devastating California wildfire

While searching an area devastated by a wildfire in Northern California, authorities discovered something unexpected in the rubble: A puppy. They gave the little survivor a fitting name: Trooper.

“These last several days have been hard on our entire county and we thought we would share a positive story today,” the Butte County Sheriff’s Office wrote Saturday on Facebook.

The office explained county deputies and search and rescue were searching through properties affected by the blaze on Friday. Authorities were examining a large property in the community of Berry Creek when they came across the “unexpected and welcomed discovery.”

The little puppy had minor burns and was taken by animal control to a nearby veterinary center to be assessed.

The sheriff’s office posted multiple images of the rescue, with authorities pulling the small, black dog out of what appears to be the frame of a charred vehicle surrounded by ash. The photos show rescuers giving the resilient pup much-needed food and water, as well as some well-deserved cuddles.

Soon enough, the authorities discovered why the pup had been left behind.

“After doing some investigating, we found out that the owner of the property has several dogs and was not able to locate them all before needing to evacuate,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the Facebook post.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to CBS News’ request for comment.

At least 35 people have been killed and 4 million acres have been burned by wildfires raging in California, Oregon and Washington State, as flames continue to threaten even more communities.

Thick smoke from the blazes are creating some of the worst air quality levels on the planet in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland, spreading unhealthy air conditions from Canada to Southern California.