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Letter to the editor

Tiny pooch, big hero

By JOHN FRANK
Published June 8, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - Standing outside his charred mobile home Thursday morning, an unscathed Rickie Hartley credited his life to an unlikely hero.

Chucky, a pint-sized, long-haired chihuahua with a persistent bark, saved his life by waking him at 3 a.m. after a lamp short-circuited and sparked a fire in the living room.

"He came up and got right in my face, " Hartley said. "When I opened my eyes, I saw the flames reflecting on the wall."

The 53-year-old said he grabbed only a pair of shorts and Chucky before he ran through the living room and out the front door as flames came from the ceiling and the walls. Neither was injured.

Firefighters responded quickly and managed to contain the blaze to just the living room area, though smoke and water damage tarnished much of the structure. A sheriff's deputy later gave Hartley a pair of tennis shoes and a firefighter gave him a T-shirt.

Hartley's double-wide mobile home is owned by the county and sits on the back lot of the county's utilities depot on Wiscon Road. The former office building was converted into a residence and Hartley, a county utilities employee, lives there to help with security.

He was taking care of Chucky for his 24-year-old daughter, Chrissy Carter. And he says 2-year-old Chucky is not always an angel, particularly when it comes to barking "at everything that moves" during the night.

"I've done a lot of complaining about him, " Hartley said. "But that will come to an end now."

For his part, Chucky was a humble hero. He lounged in the back of his owner's truck Thursday afternoon as Carter spooned water out of her hand for him to drink and onlookers stroked his black mane.

Like many victims, Hartley reflected on his fortunes and life leading up to the fire.

In an odd coincidence, he umpired a men's softball league game Wednesday night between the Hernando County Firefighters and a Beef O'Bradys team. He couldn't remember the score but he knows the firefighters won.

"The winning team came to my place to celebrate, " he joked. He can't promise to call a fair game next time they are on the field.

Hernando County Fire Marshal Richard Tincher, a longtime friend, still doesn't know how Hartley escaped unharmed when he looked at the singed door frame.

"Someone, " he said, "was looking down on him, that's for sure."

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 754-6114.

[Last modified June 8, 2007, 07:26:50]