Dogs who were trapped inside flooded Highland property rescued by owners

HIGHLAND, Calif. (KABC) -- Two dogs who were trapped inside a flooded Highland property during Thursday's powerful storm are now safe.

The home became flooded after rain caused mudslides in the East Highland neighborhood while the dogs' owners were in Las Vegas.

When they saw water coming into their house from their Ring camera, the Ronquillo family rushed back home and were able to save their dogs.

"Inside my house it doesn't look too bad, my garage is just gone. My wife's car was just covered in mud, but we were just happy we had the dogs," said Monie Ronquillo.

This comes after a third dog was saved by a family friend Thursday when the high water reached the home's window.

"Being in Las Vegas almost 4 hours away to get home to try to save them, my determination was just to get home and save them," said Ronquillo.

The friends initially attempted to rescue all three dogs, but were unsuccessful. One of the dogs was left in the garage while the other was inside the home.

"The door is so swollen on the bottom half that I couldn't. I tried my best, my husband tried too, to try to open that door. We just couldn't get it open," said Ramona Hernandez, a friend of the owners who said she felt defeated for not being able to reach the dogs.

Fortunately, all the dogs -- Woody, Russell and Sonic are now safe and back together with their loved ones.

"They're just happy that we were able to rescue them," said Ronquillo.

The Ronquillo's home of 15 years, however, was severely damaged in the flooding and they were forced to relocate.

The family set up a GoFundMe to help with costs.