ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

From June 2005 ANIMAL PEOPLE:

North Shore Animal League America presents The Lewyt Award to Lucy, a very special dog who saved her guardians from a lethal mud slide in La Conchita, Ventura County.

"January 10 was supposed to be just another Monday, but rain had fallen all night, as it had for a week," wrote longtime Humane Society of Ventura County volunteer Shirley DeFazio.

"Because U.S. 101 was closed due to recent storm damage, most of the residents of La Conchita were home," DeFazio continued. "I was in my house at the west end of our little town, talking to a friend on the telephone. My dog, Rocco, kept pawing at my granddaughter's portable crib. I kept yelling at him. Now I know he was trying to tell me something, but I wasn't listening.

"At the other end of town, a dog named Lucy was trying to warn my daughter Danielle and her new husband, Ryan McCleery of an impending disaster. A stray they had rescued from the streets of Ventura, Lucy was pawing at the back door, wanting to come in. This was unusual. Lucy loved her yard, and always enjoyed it."

Danielle and Ryan sat down to lunch, watching TV as they ate.

When Lucy continued to paw at the door, Danielle got up to check on her. Lucy's feet were muddy, so Danielle told her that she would have to stay outside a little longer. On her way back to the living room, Danielle passed a window that faced the mountain" behind La Conchita.

"Danielle saw a wall of mud coming toward her house. She screamed to Ryan to run, and they tried desperately to open the front sliding door to escape, but it was locked and time had run out. As the mud and debris struck their home, crashing into the kitchen and living room, Danielle and Ryan hunkered down with elbows out and braced themselves for the impact. The slide touched them, but miraculously stopped at their elbows."

This same mud slide buried alive singer Vanessa Bryson, 28, who was the DeFazio family's close friend, neighbor, and tenant.
It also immured Humane Society of Ventura County thrift store employee Michelle Wallet and her three daughters, two-year-old Paloma, six-year-old Raven, and 10-year-old Hannah. Their father, Jimmie Wallet, 37, had gone to get ice cream for them. For 36 hours Wallet dug, first with his bare hands, then with rescuers. Eldest daughter Jasmine, 16, visiting friends in Ventura, was the sole surviving member of his family.

Ten people died in the La Conchita slide, with most of their pets, many of whom may also have remained close to their people, trying to give warning instead of taking advantage of their early awareness to run for their lives.

"Danielle and Ryan were left with a tiny space just large enough to push through to a window and jump out to safety," wrote DeFazio. "Most of the house and yard were destroyed."

But Lucy was still trying to help them.

Lucy "must have flown over the six-foot fence, as she is not a jumper, and ran all the way to my house," looking for assistance, DeFazio recalled.

"She was fine, not a scratch on her, and was very happy to come into my yard. Danielle and Ryan had saved Lucy from the streets, and now Lucy saved them," DeFazio finished.

Lucy was nominated for the Lewyt Award for Heroic & Compassionate Animals by Suzie Franklin DeFazio of Santa Paula, aunt of Danielle DeFazio and sister-in-law of Shirley DeFazio, at suggestion of her life partner Richard Abbott. Abbott is a Humane Society of Ventura County volunteer and board member.

Mourning Michelle, Paloma, Raven, and Hannah Wallet, the human survivors of La Conchita and the Humane Society of Ventura County take comfort from the love of Lucy, Rocco, and other animals who, though equally dazed and bewildered, immediately did all they could to help.

In a world plagued with human injustice and violence, North Shore Animal League America takes great pride in rewarding heroic and compassionate pets and the shelters that keep them safe.