Ratoath vet Paul Kelly, with Fozzy, who survived a house fire in the village.

By John Donohoe

The crew at Dunshaughlin Fire Station is looking forward to welcoming Fozzy, a six-year old Great Dane to the station soon to celebrate its rescue from a house fire in Ratoath.

On Monday night of last week, the fire crew attended a house in Woodlands, Ratoath, the home of the Quigley family, after a fire call around 10.30pm. The family was outside of the house, but fireman Alan Egan, crawling along the floor to avoid the smoke, came across what he thought was somebody lying on the floor. He was wearing his protective clothing and gloves, and when the team got the 'body' out, they realised it was a dog. Alan says that the full size female Great Dane was about 10 stone. Local vet Paul Kelly, who is also the vet at Tayto Park in nearby Curraha, was checking out a seal in Tayto Park when he got a call to attend the animal.

"The fire crew had started giving oxygen to Fozzy," Paul explains. "She was a bit starry eyed or glassy eyed, and she was starting to come around. I started getting fluids into her, and her owner, Damien Quigley and myself brought her to the clinic."

Paul set Fozzy up on a dog mat and stayed with her all night, to make sure she continued to take in oxygen.

"Ten minutes more in the house, and it would have been too late - the lads were great to get the oxygen into her."

Damien and Lisa Quigley and family are staying with family members in Dublin while their smoke-damaged house is being repaired, and Dunshaughlin fire crew are hoping to invite them back to the station for a celebration and to adopt Fozzy as their 'station dog', aping a US tradition.