Ryan, a fire captain with the Avondale Fire Department, has spent 20 years protecting lives. But witnessing so many pets die in house fires inspired him and his brother to take action.

"I went back to the station and said, 'I have got to come up with a solution,'" Ryan said. "I looked it up—40,000 pets die every year in residential house fires."

The result is the Rescue Retriever, a paw-shaped device with a built-in smoke detector. When it senses smoke, the device emits a strobe light, guiding firefighters to pets hiding in smoke-filled homes.

“They’re just like children—they hide, so we have to find them,” Ryan said.

The brothers recommend placing the $40 device near a pet’s favorite hiding spot. It's paired with a decal for the front door alerting firefighters to pets inside. The device has already saved lives. More than 6,000 units have been shipped in the past year.

“When you see a fire and smoke, you can usually call out to people, but animals get afraid and hide,” said pet owner Susan Looper. “So I think it’s a great idea.”

The brothers are developing a collar version of the device and say their mission goes beyond sales.

“We have a saying: it’s not a sale, it’s a save,” Rusty said.

Rescue Retriever is available on Amazon and the company's website.