MIDDLESEX COUNTY

Hero dog found dead inside fire-damaged Woodbridge home

Suzanne Russell
@SRussellMyCJ
  • Stella%2C a mixed-breed dog%2C who woke up her owner and friend to let them know the house was on fire%2C was found dead Tuesday.
  • The dog was found under a blanket clutching her owner's purse.
  • The dog had been missing since Friday's early morning fire. Neighbors thought they had seen the dog run off.
  • Monetary donations for Stella's owner and friend are being accepted at the Woodbridge Animal Shelter and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.

WOODBRIDGE – Rocky Granata went back Tuesday to the home in which he lived in the Fords section of the township hoping to find friend Ann Marie Kelt's purse among the rubble at the fire-damaged King Georges Road apartment building.

Granata found the purse, perfectly intact, clutched under a blanket by the missing hero dog who had saved his and Kelt's life.

"I found Stella. She looked like she was resting. She took Ann Marie's pocketbook with her under the blanket," Granata said in a Facebook posting. "Greatest pet ever. Peace n Love."

"I knew in my heart she was up there," Granata said Wednesday. "She didn't suffer. She was at peace. Her pink coat helped me find her because there was so much debris."

Granata and Kelt had been looking for Stella, a mixed-breed dog wearing a pink coat, since early Friday morning when smoke began to fill the home. Stella had awaken Kelt, who in turn woke Granata. Granata called for the dog as they fled the burning home, but the dog, who was battling cancer and had a heart condition, apparently stayed in the home.

Kelt's daughter, Megan Holden of Sayreville, said the veterinarian told her that with the dog's heart condition, she probably died after taking a few breaths in the smoke-filled home. The dog was on medication to slow the progression of her cancer, which caused her heart to enlarge.

"I pray she did go quickly," said Holden, adding that there were no burns to the dog's coat. "She just looked like she was sleeping."

Granata and Kelt lost everything in the fire. They were among three tenants treated at a hospital after the fire.

Holden said Granata went back to the apartment building Tuesday to look for Kelt's purse. Holden said he found it undamaged by the fire and told Kelt and Granata to come to the house around 1 p.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, they learned that Stella's remains had been found.

"The dog was found in my mom's bedroom, clutching onto my mom's purse," Holden said.

"She (Stella) had her mother's pocketbook. She knew how important it was," Granata said. "That was amazing."

Holden said it was happiest and saddest moment. She said her mother feels she let Stella down.

"It's closure," Holden said. "It's definitely hard. It's not the outcome we had hoped for."

Holden said it also helps to know the dog was not suffering out in the cold weather. Neighbors had thought they had seen the dog run off as firefighters arrived.

Holden said St. Georges Veterinary Hospital in the Avenel section has provided the family with a keepsake paw print, arranged for cremation, and let the family say goodbye to Stella in a private setting.

The family plans to put flowers by the apartment building's fence as a little memorial to Stella.

"Everyone has reached out to us. It's just incredible," Holden said. "There is still hope in humanity."

Kelt is staying with Holden. Granata spent the past few days at the Edison Hotel in Raritan Center and is schedule to relocate to the Palace Hotel on King Georges Post Road in Fords.

John Hagerty, township spokesman, said gift cards and other financial contributions for Ann Marie Kelt and Rocky Granata can be dropped off at the Woodbridge Animal Shelter, 195 Woodbridge Ave., in the Sewaren section.

The drop-off hours are 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Gift card and monetary donations also are being accepted at Holden's church, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 28 S. 4th St., in Fords.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com.