Bill McKelway with the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a story about a Lakeside resident whose luck turned when Henrico firefighters rescued his two dogs from his burning home:

Josh Funkhouser’s luck may have turned yesterday, thanks to Henrico County firefighters who saved his Lakeside home and two pet dogs.

Reciting a litany of ills that resembled the lyrics from a country song, Funkhouser broke up with his girlfriend a month ago, lost big time playing poker in Las Vegas last week and saw his Kenwood Avenue home rendered temporarily uninhabitable by a kitchen fire yesterday…

… The fire was discovered by a neighbor, R. Scott Ogle, who smelled smoke and called 911 after finding the house empty and hearing barking inside.

… In their first minutes on the scene, shortly after 1 p.m., firefighters located Funkhouser’s two dogs deep to the rear of the one-story house.

“It was very tough making our way back there,” said Battalion Chief Steve Wood. Six-year-old Albert, a mix, was fine and alert, pausing to offer Funkhouser a lick or two in all the post-fire commotion.

But firefighters found 2-year-old Zoe, a golden retriever, unconscious.

Firefighters rushed the dog outside and it took a team of rescue workers more than 10 minutes to revive her with oxygen on the front lawn.

Then they carried her a few blocks away to Lakeside Animal Hospital in an ambulance.

“We think she’s going to be fine,” said Dr. Kijona Key, Zoe’s treating veterinarian. “This sort of thing happens more often than you’d think.”