Docile dog alerts homeowner to fire across the street
By Cheryl Holladay

OUT SAFELY Roscommon Township firefighters work to ventilate the roof of Roy Lamoreaux's home at 206 Elm Street, Houghton Lake, May 10. Fire Chief Dick Martin said Lake Township firefighters assisted at the fire. Mr. Lamoreaux, an amputee, was evacuated successfully, with the assistance of neighbor Cindle Nelson, and indirectly her dog, Mariah. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. (CHP)

Cindle Nelson's seven-year-old rottweiler, Mariah, doesn't much care for chasing a ball. Nelson describes her dog as big, fat and lazy. But when her neighbor's house was on fire the morning of May 10, the dog raised a little heck.

Mariah, emitting a "barky-whine," jumped at Nelson's front window, tore down the blinds and flipped over the ottoman to alert Nelson, who was in a back bedroom. When Nelson checked to see what was going on, she discovered the home across the street was on fire.

"I was so proud of her," Nelson said of Mariah. "This is stuff I see on Animal Planet."

Nelson called 911 and did what she could to help her neighbor, Roy Lamoreaux, out of his burning block home on Elm Street, Houghton Lake. She said he was already starting to come out of the laundry room in his wheelchair when she approached the house.

Cindle Nelson and Mariah

Meanwhile, other neighbors had called 911 and were trying to stem the tide of the fire with garden hoses, until Roscommon Township fire fighters arrived and advised they retreat.

Nelson said her husband, Rod, is a fireman with Sanilac County, but he was not home at the time. She said Lamoreaux, an amputee, was dressed only in sweatpants, so she went back across the street to grab some of her husband's clothes. Fortunately, Lamoureaux's own dog was at a friend's house, Nelson said.

Lamoreaux was assisted by the Red Cross and his insurance company with motel accommodations.

The story of Nelson's dog alerting her to the fire was broadcast on the news and since then she has received anonymous gifts on her porch, such as flowers and dog bones.

"She's a big baby," Nelson said. "She's such a honey."