The Day our Black Lab Saved Our Lives

We have all heard stories about how dogs have saved people's lives.

Here's our own story. It occurred last Saturday February 6, 2010, when northeast Ohio got one of "those "snowstorms" that we used to get in the 1970s and 1980s, that just never seem to be "popular" anymore.

So that day, Tom and I are supposed to be at our annual church meeting at 9:00 am. I am "out to lunch" mentally as I usually am; I have no clue about the snowstorm, and I am just checking my email, reading my books, and Tom goes outside starting to shovel/plow/etc. as he is more aware of his surroundings than I am. After he comes in at 7:30 am I say to him, are you going to be done in time for us to get to the meeting by 9 am?

He looks at me like, do you even KNOW what kind of a storm we got overnight? and he says, we are gonna be lucky to get out of our driveway by MONDAY at this rate. I look out and then start to get a clue as to how bad the storm was.

So Tom calls Pastor John and tells him, look, we are not getting out of this place any time soon, as we have four feet of snow in our driveway and the plow went out on us - AGAIN. So Pastor John cancels the meeting (not just because of us, obviously, as Tallmadge also got a foot of snow). So Tom goes out to deal with the driveway. The plow is not working, again, (who'da thunkit?) so he starts shoveling by hand. I am thinking that by noon he will have had a heart attack.

I call sister Debbie at 10 am to see if they will dig us out and no one answers the phone. I start to think maybe she is avoiding me? Who wants to dig out a driveway that is an eighth of a mile long, when you have your own long driveway to clear?

So I do what you are not supposed to do; I open up the YELLOW PAGES and start looking for snow plow guys. I call one guy and he says "Do you know how bad this storm was? It'll be a miracle if I get to you today". Additionally, Tom, unbeknownst to me, has asked our neighbor to plow us out, but he was not sure if he would be able to come over.

So I decide about 11 am that since we are snowed in, I will do an "oven clean" -- supposedly automatic thing you do - push "oven clean" and it "cleans the oven." So I push the button and think nothing further of it. About a half hour later I notice a couple of things:

1) Ginger our Leonberger, 8 years old, is very sleepy and simply, well, not moving.

2) Jenna our 4-yr-old starts crying and says, Mom I dont feel good. !!

3) I don't feel so good myself.

4) Princess, our beagle, is acting frantic - but this is per her usual activity, so I am unfazed.

5) Hoss our black lab is acting normally - a spazz. I ignore him.

6) So then I am upstairs folding laundry and Rocky our other black lab, who has "a couple of extra pounds on him" (we call him "portly" rather than fat) somehow manages to climb up the stairs and just starts huffing and puffing at me and looking pleadingly at me. I said, what's wrong, Rocky? and he just waddles that body back and forth pleading with me, and I said to myself finally, "something is wrong".

I go downstairs and Ginger is still not moving and the kids are crying and saying they're sick. So I look around and the place is filled with smoke and I realize - finally - either

a) it is carbon monoxide poisoning or
b) just smoke from the OVEN as it is being cleaned and Tom just baked a pie in it the other day so there is sugar dripping and now it is baking and smoking at 500 degrees and basically we are getting ready to have a fire here or we are carbon monoxide poisoned.

So I "come to" and figure out what is going on, and I yell at the kids to get upstairs NOW and shut all doors and I get the dogs outside then I turn on all fans and open up all windows, etc., then I yell at Tom to come in, this is an emergency, and all the while I am thinking, if I have to call 911 Fire, there is NO WAY they can get up this driveway as we don't have it plowed!!!!
arghhhhhhh

So we finally get things under control, turn off oven clean, keep fans moving, kids are ensconced safely upstairs with windows open, etc.

I prayed to God for help. Like this: "HELP US!" (not mincing any words this time)

After a while things are better, the oven finally starts cooling down, the smoke is clearing, we can breathe. I start to realize that we nearly died. Just at that moment I begin to hear this really loud noise outside and there is another angel of mercy, our neighbor, plowing us out.

I also realize that Rocky our black lab saved our lives.

So later that night I reward him with a big juicy steak and we all hug him and thank him for saving our lives. He's laying, "resting" on the couch, and he looks up at me as if to say, "well, you guys are my family, and I had to do what I had to do .... I love you guys and I would do anything for you. I would only ask for one thing ... it would be a small smackerel of food"... (like winnie the pooh).

I also realize that Ginger our 8 year old Leonberger had probably been thinking, in her coma-like state, "Well, I guess this is the way I'm gonna die.....smoke inhalation..... huh... what a way to go" (she was doing better very quickly after the smoke cleared, by the way).

I realize that Hoss our other black lab simply thought there was a roast in the oven that we were going to feed him as he is always mooching food. This is a dog with legs and arms like Gumby that can stretch and leap onto countertops and scarf down whole steaks and roasts and your entire dinner if you don't watch out.

So, just wanted to share this story to say that we are glad to be alive; we are glad that Rocky saved us from an untimely death; we are thankful for our neighbor; we are thankful that we can pray to God even in a panicky way, and that He hears our prayers.

Love, Lisa