Koerner liquidated most of his retirement savings and pressed his builder to work at what he called ‘record speed,’ completing construction in just over four months, driven by fear that Daisy Mae would not survive a lengthy displacement.
ALTADENA, Calif. — Ted Koerner moved back into his rebuilt Altadena home shortly before Thanksgiving with his 13-year-old golden retriever Daisy Mae — among the first of thousands of homeowners displaced by the January 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires to complete a rebuild.
Construction on the Altadena property took just over four months. Koerner said he liquidated most of his retirement holdings and pressed his builder to work at “record speed” because he feared Daisy Mae, a 75-pound, snow-white dog he has lived alone with for 12 years, might not survive a prolonged displacement.
“Because if she passes, I don’t want to come here,” Koerner said. “And this is a very, very, very special dog.”
The Eaton and Palisades fires burned in January 2025, destroying thousands of homes across the Los Angeles area and killing 31 people. Koerner fled his Altadena street as flames reached its end, driving away with Daisy Mae — then 12 years old — along with a couple pairs of sweats, long-sleeved shirts, a pillow, and two photographs of the dog.
He and Daisy Mae spent the first weeks in a hotel with hundreds of other displaced residents. Koerner said he walked her through streets still covered in hardened ash.
“Those first few weeks were beyond devastating,” he said.
He said he had to wait for his mortgage servicing company to release his insurance payout before those funds could reach his contractor, so he drew on retirement savings to keep the project moving.
The first time Koerner brought Daisy Mae to the property after construction began, the house was framed with a roof and rough openings for windows and doors.
“She walked right over to where the front door was supposed to be, went right in the house, walked around the house, walked over to what was the master bedroom sliding door, which was a great big opening, just like it would have been, and sat down and got a big smile on her face and went, ‘OK, the house is still here,’” Koerner said.
The rebuilt home now stands in the shade of the property’s 175-year-old Heritage Oak. Daisy Mae plays in the backyard beneath it — a sight Koerner said he feared he might never see again.
“I went into the house and cried a lot,” he said. “It still has that effect. I’m actually home with my dog.”