Rocky's A #1 Hero!!!

by Cathy Collins

Rocky's a Dobennan Pinscher who's devoted to his family, Rex and Melissa Via and their infant son, Carl Russell. He came into their lives when he was six weeks old -- a birthday present from Melissa to Rex -- and won them over immediately. Before long he became a good and playful companion -- in fact, he's probably the best canine Frisbee player in the county. He quickly became part of the activities around the George Russell farm where they live on Rt. 33, south of Cuckoo. He likes to help round up the cattle, and romp with the cats and the rabbits. He maintains a post at the riding ring while Melissa's training her Arabian and Quarter Horses and keeps a watchful and protective eye on his domain.

Last year when he was seven years old, Rocky almost died. He was steadily losing blood and his body was hunched up resembling a horse that has colic. Several vets were called in to treat Rocky. First, they thought he'd been poisoned, then they suspected that he's probably been fed glass fragments hidden in hamburger by some persons who vandalized one of the cottages on the farm while the family was away Christmas shopping.

Melissa, who has worked as a veterinary assistant, kept a vigil with Rocky throughout his ordeal. During his slow recovery, he couldn't stay at the veterinary clinic because he was too cramped in even the largest cage (he weighs 110 lbs. and takes up as much space on the front seat of a pickup as a person), plus he was depressed. Melissa took Rocky home and nursed him along, giving him the necessary medications and fluids and talking with the vet twice a day. She had to feed him his diet of ground beef and rice by hand.

Rocky finally recovered and now he and Melissa have a closer bond than ever before. Wherever she goes, Rocky's with her. If she's going on a trail ride he goes along. He follows her as she does her barn chores as well as her housework Rocky's never forgotten his narrow escape and Melissa's love and care that pulled him through.

In the early hours of last Friday morning, Rocky finally had a chance to say "thank you". At around 230 a.m. the woodstove that's in the kitchen of their home caught on fire.

"I was having a real deep dream that someone was smothering me," Melissa said, "and I was fighting them." When she woke up, Rocky, who normally sleeps near the woodstove, was at her side of the bed, whining and pushing his nose against her face with a lot of force, determined to wake her up. When she finally opened her eyes and sat up she realized that the house was filled with white smoke. She began screaming for Rex to wake up. "I was having a terrible time getting Rex up. All I could see was this smoke which was about 3' high," she said. Melissa jumped out of bed and crawled to Carl's room. His crib was also engulfed in smoke. Melissa put a blanket completely over Carl, and crawled through the house to the back door carrying the baby with Rocky at her side. By that time flames shooting from the stove illuminated the kitchen. Melissa ran to the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mason Harris, who live next door with Melissa's younger sister, Julie. She pounded frantically on the door and woke them up. Then the fire department and rescue squad were summoned.

Rocky stayed behind at the house with Rex who was using a fire extinguished [sic] on the blaze and drawing water from a 55 gallon aquarium in the living room. Mr. Harris brought a garden hose to the house which they connected to an adapter on the kitchen sink and eventually got the blaze under control.

Members of the Locust Creek and Bumpass Volunteer Fire Companies were soon on the scene, along with members of the Mineral unit of the Louisa County Rescue Squad.

Throughout the ordeal, Carl, who is five months old, never made a sound. Melissa believes that he was unconscious. He was checked by the Rescue Squad and she took him to the doctor later that morning and he was given a good report.

The fire did about $3,500 worth of damage to the cottage which is a converted chicken house. The firemen say that within ten minutes the floor around the stove would have caught fire and the whole house would have burned. The fire was in the process of working its way up the outside wall of the house to the second floor. Within that same time frame, the couple and their infant son would have inhaled enough smoke to be killed, had it not been for Rocky and his efforts to awaken Melissa.

The couple has a smoke detector, but they recently took out the batteries because it was extremely sensitive and would sound its alarm when Melissa was cooking or if someone came into the cottage smoking a cigarette.

Melissa has always been an animal lover. She and Rex have quite a menagerie of cats, geese, rabbits, cows, horses, Carl's pony, Dewey, and several other dogs at their Mica Springs Farm. But Rocky's number one.

"I've always been devoted to Rocky," said Melissa, "but now there aren't words to describe how I feel about him. He saved our lives. He's our hero!'

[Photo of Carl Russell Via. Caption "Little Carl Russell's bedroom was completely engulfed with smoke."]

[Photo of Melissa Via and Rocky. Caption "Rocky demonstrated his faithfulness and devotion to his master, Melissa Via, last Friday awakening her as smoke filled the family's home when the woodstove caught fire."]

The Central Virginian,

Jordan Jones
jordan@leapingdogpress.com