When Atlanta firefighter Vince Marcus first laid eyes on Smokey the dog, she was being carried out of a burning home.
Smokey was just a little black ball of fur, he remembers -- and she wasn't in good shape.
"I grabbed the medic bag. We laid the female down, massaged her ribs, put an air mask on her mouth," he says. "One leg kicked, second leg kicked, third leg kicked and we had a tail wagging -- we had a little puppy!"
The Jan. 2007 blaze happened in Atlanta's west end, inside a home that was being renovated. The home's only human resident -- a homeless man who had set up shop -- escaped the fire. Firefighters found Smokey, just a six-week-old puppy, in the basement of the home.
Once the fire was out, Marcus and the firefighters who had helped with the rescue -- Leutenent Dave Warner, Greg Plageman and Stefan Pitts -- had to determine what to do with the dog.
"I have two little girls of my own, so the fellas looked at me," he says. "I didn't want her to wind up in a shelter, so I took her home."
Once there, the small dog was named Smokey. Marcus' five- and 11-year-old daughters immediately fell in love with the animal. They weren't the only ones.
"She was so loved by the neighborhood that she mated with another black lab. The result of that was nine puppies," Marcus explains.
With the new additions on the way, Marcus knew he would need help. In addition to his job as a firefighter, both he and his wife are in school. His children are busy with extracurricular activities. That's when the non profit group Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta (GRRA) stepped in.
The group takes in animals in need of good homes, and sees that they get them.
"I was very fortunate to contact Golden Retriever Rescue," Marcus says. "I have to commend them because of how closely they work to make sure dogs are rescued and taken care of; the personal sacrifice they made."
Kim Farmer, president of GRRA, says even though Smokey is clearly not a golden retriever, the group couldn't refuse a chance to come to her aid. The group had heard about Smokey's dramatic fire rescue.
"We're a sucker for a good story."
Marcus says his story isn't so strange at his station.
"This must be the animal house station," he says.
About a year and a half ago, firefighter Erika Loftman made news when she gave mouth-to-mouth to a cat. He also says Atlanta Fire Rescue is working hard to add pet air masks to their paramedic units.
Meanwhile, Smokey and her puppies have all been placed with foster families. The puppies, who were born Nov. 22, have been weaned and have all their shots. Farmer says she is looking for potential puppy parents in the Georgia area, because it's easier for the group to do a background check and then transfer the animals to their new homes. Anyone interested can contact the group at GRRA.com
As for Marcus, he remains dedicated to saving the lives of animals, as well as humans. He hopes to hold a fundraiser for the GRRA sometime in the future.
"A life in a house is a life worth saving -- cat, dog, human. That's our goal: To save every life present on the scene."
