Posted on 12/28/2005 8:11:32 PM PST by BenLurkin
ELKO, Nev. - The biggest Christmas present came a day late this year for Lee and Irene DellaSilva of Ogden, Utah. But it's one they'll never forget. Eight days after the DellaSilvas' 6-year-old poodle, Miss Lizzie, was lost during a rollover accident east of Carlin, a Union Pacific crew spotted the black pooch Monday morning on railroad tracks near the crash site.
"It is an act of God as far as I am concerned," said Lee DellaSilva. "This just renews our faith in the Christmas miracle."
Miss Lizzie's travels began after she fled the DellaSilvas' vehicle following the accident the Sunday before Christmas.
Rescuers kept them from searching for their pet. Then they had to leave the area.
Over eight days, Miss Lizzie traveled without food through coyote territory before lying down in exhaustion on a railway trestle crossing.
The poodle was spotted and rescued by a Union Pacific crew thanks to a "missing dog" poster that the DellaSilvas had provided to a UP outpost.
Since she was on the tracks, they assumed she was dead. Then she weakly popped up her head.
The crew put the train into an emergency stop and went back to rescue the dog, warmed her up, dried her off, cleaned her up and placed her snugly in a work bag for a ride back home.
As part of their search for Miss Lizzie, the DellaSilvas were offering a $1,000 reward. The train crew is donating the reward to the Dogtown Rescue organization.
"It is just something totally weird," engineer Mike Kessler said. "This just doesn't happen. Especially with something this small ... . We call her Lucky Lizzie now"
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Information from: Elko Daily Free Press
Dog Ping
I love this story. Thank you.
Thought this was about John Kerry.........
Nice guys these.
Jeez, I thought this was going to be a retrospective about John Kerry in November 2004.
awwww
Even my cats are scoffing at this.
:-)
What a survivor! Praise God for His loving care of us and our furry friends.
Great story, but eight days without food? Not likely without any food at all. She's a dog for cryin' out loud.
Ping!
Heartwarming ping!
Nice story in a world that often have few. Simple act of love, brings forth some real joy.
Poodles, as they were originally bred, are hunting dogs. They are retrievers with there thick curly hair warding off cold water and allowing them to retrieve many waterfowl before they succumb to the cold. In other words they are tough. The miniature and other derivatives of the breed may not be so tough but to put all poodles into the wimp category is unfair.
I just emailed this to my dad...they have two toy poodles, both pitch black. Gorgeous, smart and vivacious little pups!
Yep, the standard poodle, not shaved by the way, are great dogs and as tough as they get.
Judging from the photo, Lizzie isn't a standard poodle. She appears to the middle size -- the Miniature. The Standard Poodle is over 15 inches at the shoulder.The Toy is under 10 inches. Tough to tell because she's laying down, but the one in the photo appears to be the mid-size.
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