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Home destroyed by fire, but firefighters save dog
By BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth BureauSat. Apr 10 - 4:53 AM
Leslie Townsend gets a kiss from Belle, a two-year-old boxer. The dog was overcome by smoke when the family home burned but was revived by firefighters. (Brian Medel / Yarmouth Bureau)
ALLENDALE — Leslie and Ellen Townsend left their home in Allendale, near Lockeport, Wednesday morning for a quick trip into Shelburne.
It was a home with a history. It was the house he grew up in. The couple was married in its living room 26 years ago. It belonged to Townsend’s mother back then.
The couple later made arrangements to purchase it and made their final payment on April 2.
But as they drove into Shelburne just after 10 a.m., fire snapped and crackled its way up a rear wall. The fire was probably caused by an exposed or frayed wire, Townsend said Friday.
By the time neighbours noticed, the 40-year-old house, which was uninsured, was engulfed in flames.
The Townsend sons, Leslie, 15, and Kevin, 17, were a few kilometres away at Lockeport Regional High School but inside the home was the family pet, a two-year-old female boxer named Belle.
When firefighters smashed their way into the house, they couldn’t see because of the dense smoke. Dropping to floor level, they saw, all too clearly, the lifeless form of a dog lying in the living room. She looked dead.
A firefighter scooped her up, rushed her outside and placed her on the lawn.
"They gave her oxygen," said Ellen Townsend. "A few minutes more and she wouldn’t have made it . . . she didn’t have much of a pulse."
The dog appeared to rally after a few minutes. Firefighters gave her tiny sips of water from a bottle.
"They trickled it down her throat," she said.
Rescuers would not give up. About an hour after the dog was carried from the burning house, she stood up on wobbly legs and looked around at the people frantically trying to save the home.
Fire departments from Lockeport, Sable River and Little Harbour all responded.
Even though they lost everything, the family is happy their dog was rescued and with the efforts the firefighters made to save their house.
Shelburne RCMP said the fire was not suspicious.
Although the shell of the house is still standing, it will have to be demolished, said Leslie Townsend.
"We lost everything." he said. "We just got it paid for three or four days ago."
"And he planned on putting insurance on the first of the month," said his wife.
Now the family is spending time with friends or relatives. They have no place to move into.
The Canadian Red Cross arranged for the emergency purchase of food and some clothing and personal care items.
Andy Stuart, principal of Lockeport Regional High School, said the school has launched a clothing drive and will soon help with the collection of larger household items.
The school will open its gymnasium today and people may drop off larger items of furniture or appliances.
Anyone who wants to help may contact the high school, said Stuart.
( bmedel@herald.ca)
Wow!!! I've never met these people but don't they sound amazing? They just lost everything and the first thing that they can talk about is how very glad they are that Belle, their two year old family boxer, will live to tell the tail.
Like many schools, the Lockeport High School has its own web site.... http://lockeport.ednet.ns.ca/ , complete with phone numbers, email addresses and even a mailing address.
When my daughter was an infant, the trailer we were living in caught fire in the middle of the night. I was able to escape with my daughter and my pets , but there was no time to save anything ... so I'm telling you right now these folks will need EVERYTHING.
If they want to cook a meal .. they will need a pot to cook it in and dishes to eat off. If the kids want to go swimming .. first they'll need a bathing suit and a towel. If they want to wash their hair or brush their teeth ... first they'll need stuff for that too.
Something to wash their clothes, a place to sit , a lamp for light ... the list of what it takes to start over from scratch is unimaginable.
Like I said, I've never met the Townsends. In the course of my work with the homeless pet pages I have seen far too many folks who put their pets at the bottom of their priority list. So I can't help being impressed with people who have better priorities, eh?