Hi °C | Lo °C 
FIREFIGHTERS feared the worst when they stumbled over a "body" after forcing their way into a smoke-filled home.
The emergency crew thought they were dealing with a fatality following the call-out.
Instead, they discovered it was a 65kg Great Dane called Fozzy which had been overcome by fumes.
Owners Damien and Lucy Quigley and their two young daughters waited anxiously outside as fire hit their home in Woodlands, Ratoath, Co Meath.
"She looked like she was dead, there was no life in her," said Dunshaughlin firefighter Alan Egan after the fire crew carried Fozzy out into the garden in an effort to revive her.
They immediately got to work and inserted a tube down Fozzy's throat to feed her oxygen.
"We thought at first she was as good as gone but she started to respond a bit and opened her eyes," said Alan.
Local vet Paul Kelly arrived shortly afterwards and brought the groggy dog back to his surgery where he spent a sleepless night nursing her back to health.
"The fire crew saved her life and I just kept her going," said Mr Kelly, who added that Fozzy was now doing well and would soon be reunited with her family.
"She still has a bit of cough but she's had a bath and is eating and drinking and should make a full recovery," he said.
Mr Quigley said the family were delighted that the six-year-old pet was on the mend.
"We had her in the kitchen because the weather was bad and knew we couldn't go back into the house when the fire broke out and feared the worst," said mother-of-two Lucy Quigley who is still assessing the damage to their two-storey home.
Mr Quigley added: "But it had a happy ending and I'll bring her over to the fire station when she's up to it."
Irish Independent
