The Reality
If we take some time to think, we will realize life is full of danger. While true, if worries consume our mental energy, we would live in a constant state of paranoia. Imagine tiptoeing through life feeling anxious, afraid of some misfortune that may befall you.
Behaving in such a way is impractical. A simple walk, drive, or any of our everyday routines would suddenly become burdensome. Our minds would overwhelm us with frightening possibilities.
Instead, we choose to live, going about our business despite risks. We operate with a level of detachment, realizing that we don’t have control over life’s unpredictability.
We assume things will go along as we expect them. And yet, life can change in an instant.
Fire
Erika Poremski’s life changes the moment she steps outside her front door. Leaving to retrieve something from her car, she turns around to head back into the house. To her horror, the house is in flames, and her 8-month old daughter is inside.
Image: (Erika Lynn/en.newsner)
Erika hears the screams of her daughter and rushes back to reenter the house. She tries desperately, burning her own hands and face in the process. She is unable to get to the second-floor bedroom to save her daughter Viviana.
Her alert neighbors attempt to break windows and kick down doors, to no avail. No one can get past the flames to the infant. The fire traps her.
On the second floor of the house, their dog Polo bravely covers Viviana with his body to protect her. Even in such great danger, the dog doesn’t budge. Polo has solemn determination.
The Baltimore City Fire Department arrives later, after the initial call at 10:45 p.m. By now, raging flames engulf the house. Thick clouds of the smoke puff from the first and second floors.
Firefighters reach Viviana and Polo and witness him lying on top of Viviana. She suffers severe burns to her arms and face on one side of her body.
The situation looks grim. Firefighters rush Viviana to paramedics, who can resuscitate her. The battle against the flames lasts a half hour before finally subsiding.
Love, Always
Sadly, Polo doesn’t make it. But no one will forget his tremendous sacrifice. If not for Polo’s heroism, Viviana might not be alive today.
Image: (WBAL-TV11/en.newsner)
Polo’s shielding of Viviana’s body prevents her from burning any further. She survives with burns covering 19 percent of her body. Apart from Erika and Viviana, there are no other injuries.
The incident shakes the family to their very core. Displaced from their home, the father begins a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for support.
While the family is grateful that Viviana lives, there remains a hole in their hearts for Polo. Erika says she views Polo as her first baby and is grief-stricken by his loss.
Polo’s selfless act isn’t just a reminder of how genuinely invaluable our canine friends are. It’s a reminder that our dogs aren’t only pets. Cherish them as members of your family, never taking them for granted.
For their lives are too short.
Video credits to WBAL-TV11 via Youtube
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