Bruno the Chihuahua survives Kensington house collapse

BRUNO LIVES!

The black-and-brown Chihuahua that was presumed dead in Saturday's predawn house collapse in Kensington came scurrying out of the rubble yesterday afternoon when his owner showed up and simply called his name.

Bruno had been staying with Eric Carroll, 43, who was injured when his home at Sterner and Emerald streets collapsed about 4:45 a.m. Saturday. The dog belongs to Carroll's father.

The Department of Licenses and Inspections reported Sunday that Carroll suffered "minor injuries and is expected to make a full recovery," but Carroll's brother-in-law, Jose Feliciano, said the injuries are more severe.

"They thought it was minor because he climbed out of the debris, but his back is actually broken," Feliciano said.

Carroll, who was already partially paralyzed before the collapse, is scheduled to undergo surgery this morning at Temple University Hospital, Feliciano said.

Jennifer Leary, founder of Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, assisted in rescuing Carroll's dog, Paws, and his cat, Kit. But Leary had been unable to find Bruno in the immediate aftermath of the collapse or during a two-hour search yesterday morning.

Apparently, Bruno just wasn't ready to come out.

Feliciano said that Carroll's father showed up yesterday afternoon to resume the search.

"They couldn't find the dog this morning, so Eric's father went over by himself - the dog actually belongs to him - and he sat there for a bit and called his name and the dog pretty much popped up out of the debris," Feliciano said. "He'd been in there the last three days by himself."

Bruno was taken to Penn Vet's Ryan Hospital at 39th and Spruce streets for evaluation, and was found to have suffered no major injuries.

"He started crying when he found the dog," Feliciano said of Carroll's father.

Bruno is being cared for by Feliciano's family.

"From three days of not eating, he's a little underweight," Feliciano said. "Other than that, he's pretty healthy."