Tiny canine offers mighty save

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By Jacque Nicholson

April 27, 2009

Dog's alert helps owner save home from fire

By Jacque Nicholson The McAlester News-Capital Mon Apr 27, 2009, 09:46 AM CDT

Dogs are not called “man’s best friend” for nothing. Just ask Vickie Coy, of Hartshorne.

As a matter of fact, Coy thinks her 11-month old Yorkie, Bam-Bam, is more than a best friend. “He’s a hero,” she said.

Bam-Bam earned his status as a hero on April 5. It was 1:30 a.m. and Coy was asleep in her bedroom. Bam-Bam went outside through his doggie door, but immediately came back into the house.

Coy said the little dog ran into her bedroom barking wildly. According to Coy, Bam-Bam kept running back and forth from her bedroom to the doggie door, barking all the while. “I can tell his different barks and I knew something was wrong. He was sounding the alarm. He was really telling it. He

didn’t let up until he made sure I was up and aware of what was going on.”

What was going on was a fire. A neighbor’s shed, located close to the back of Coy’s house, was burning. Trees were also on fire.

Coy was unaware of the flames so close to her house until she responded to Bam-Bam’s urgent barking. “I went into the kitchen and could see a bright light through the doggie door. I opened the blinds over the sink and all I could see was fire,” she said. “It was scary.”

Coy called Hartshorne Fire Department, but she knew she’d have to take action herself to save her vehicles and her home.

“I can laugh about it now, but at the time it was anything but funny. I couldn’t find my britches! When I finally found them and got them on, I knew I’d have to move my car and pick-up,” she said. “By the time I got out to the carport, the car and pick-up were already hot. I debated about how safe it would be to get in the hot vehicles, but I took a chance.”

Coy put Bam-Bam in the car and moved it a safe distance down the road. As she was hurrying back to get the pick-up, a man drove up, parked his car, got out and told her the fire department was on the way. He told her he had been driving all night from Indiana and asked what he could do to help. She told him she needed to wet the area behind her house in an attempt to keep it from catching fire.

The man returned with Coy to her house, got the garden hose and started wetting down the area that was in danger.

“I always have trouble starting the pick-up, but that morning it turned over on the first try,” Coy said. “After I moved the truck I came back to the house and helped the man with garden hose.

“By then the fire department was there. They responded so quickly. I think they brought two or three fire trucks. It looked like they drove right through the fire to get where they needed to be. The fire department really deserves a pat on the back for a job well done.”

Coy said once the fire department arrived the man from Indiana “just disappeared.” She said, “I think he was my angel.”

The shed was completely destroyed, but Coy’s house, property and possibly her life were saved. And she gives Bam-Bam all the credit.

“I wouldn’t have known anything about it had it not been for Bam-Bam. None of the neighbors noticed. One neighbor said he didn’t even notice when the fire department arrived,” Coy said.

Ironically, Coy did not want Bam-Bam or any other dog. When her beloved poodle of 13 years died, she was heartbroken. “I didn’t want to get attached to another dog,” she said.

But her kids knew better. On her birthday they surprised her with Bam-Bam. It was love at first sight for both of them.

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