Heroic Rescue of Elderly Couple by Their Half-breed Wolf Dog

Eve and Norman Fertig treat and rehabilitate injured animals at Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary located on their property in Alden, New York.  This story is about how one of the animals paid them back by saving their lives.

In 2000, Eve and Norman rescued a tiny, sick half wolf, half German Shepherd puppy from a breeder.  On October 12, 2006, Shana weighed a powerful 160 lbs.  That night a massive snowstorm with high winds hit upstate New York.

It was the routine for the 81-year-old Fertigs to feed and exercise the animals in the sanctuary around 7pm each night.  While in the building, the lights went out and they realized that something was wrong.  When they went outside to see what was going on a huge tree fell down on them, and other trees fell with it, effectively blocking their way to the other sanctuary buildings and their house, which was about 200 feet away.

The Fertigs huddled in a narrow alley between two buildings.  They were sheltered from falling trees, but not from the cold.  They could not climb over the trees, so they were trapped. "We were in big trouble. … I said to my husband, 'I think we could die out here,'" Eve said.

Shana found the Fertigs and began burrowing under the trees to reach them, and tunneling through the snow to reach the house.  This took her until about 11:30pm.  Then Shana came back, threw the 86-lb. Eve on her back, and dragged Norman, who held onto Eve’s legs.  It took her until 2am to reach the house.   

When they reached the house the Fertigs fell inside the door and Shana laid on top of them to keep them warm.  There was no electricity or heat in the house, and they laid there until the fire department found them.

For her efforts, Shana received the Citizens for Humane Animal Treatment's Hero's Award, which is generally an award given to humans. 

Eve Fertig teaches others to be wildlife rehabilitators.  She and Norman are volunteers, and pay for caring for the sanctuary animals out of their social security checks.  Donations may be sent to Mrs. Eve Fertig, Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary, 11380 Cary Road, Alden, N.Y. 14004-9547.

This summary was taken from a FOXNews story by Liza Porteus http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234599,00.html which has many more interesting details about this amazing rescue.

“God is watching; he's watching all the time," Eve Fertig told FOXNews from her home at the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary in Alden, N.Y.