Medium to help N.Y. family find missing hero dog

YORKTOWN, N.Y. — The owners of a dog who roused them while their house was ablaze are calling on a medium to help find the pet they credit with saving their lives.

The family is pleading with the public to help find Nero, the Newfoundland mastiff that apparently fled after the fire on Sunday. Nero's owner Giulio Eliseo said while the house was burning, the dog awoke his wife, Maria, 48, and 26-year-old daughter, Marie Rose, when fire alarms did not. All three escaped with minor injuries.

"If it wasn't for him, I would be burying my wife and my daughter," Eliseo said. "As far as I'm concerned, he's a four-legged hero."

Friends of the family have put them in touch with a psychic medium who is expected to come help either Friday or Saturday, Eliseo said.

Their hopes were raised by a reported sighting of Thursday, but Nero remained missing Friday.

"When we got there, he wasn't around," Eliseo said Thursday night. "Our hope is up that he is getting close to home."

Eliseo said Thursday that he is getting tips from people who thought they had seen Nero , but with the 10-year-old dog still missing, Eliseo, his wife and daughter were growing increasingly concerned.

Eliseo said he was grateful for everybody who has offered support and those who have called in tips for a dog he described as "a big teddy bear (who) likes jingle bells." The family has raised Nero since he was a month old, Eliseo said.

"I can't thank everybody enough," he said.

While the family is safe, their home was destroyed.

"It's all gone," Eliseo said, adding that he was "fighting" with his insurance company. "But right now the main concern is the dog. Once I know he's fine, I can start fighting again."

More than 150 firefighters from eight departments responded to the blaze, which Eliseo said started in a small room off the kitchen, in his dryer.

The Eliseos have two other children who both attend Westchester Community College. Three other dogs in the family, Roxy, 8, an English bulldog; Bandit, 1, a husky; and Buddy, 4, a Chihuahua-Dachshund mix, perished in the blaze, apparently of smoke inhalation, Eliseo said.

"We have no favorites," Eliseo said. "They're all our children."