The Eliseo family, who lost their Yorktown home and four dogs in a fire exactly a month ago on Nov. 24, are rebuilding their home and looking forward to moving in sometime in the spring.
Their neighbor Bill Williams, who is a contractor for a living, has put on hold some of his own projects in order to help out the family.
"Everyone has been so generous and helpful with everything," the family's oldest daughter Marie Rose Eliseo told Patch.
The fire, which reduced their Wildwood Street home to rubble on Nov. 24, threatened to kill Marie and her mother Maria Eliseo had it not been for their 10-year-old, 150-pound Newfoundland mastiff Nero who woke them up. Two men – Brian Avery and Robert Cole – also helped save Maria escape her burning home from a second-story bathroom window.
Since then the community has united to help in any way they can. Neighbors searched for their hero dog Nero who was presumed to have escaped, before the family found his body at the home.
The Eliseos had a chance to say goodbye to him and their three other dogs – whom Giulio Eliseo said he considered his children – with a prayer service at a Shrub Oak parish on Saturday, Dec. 14. That day they also blessed the new addition to their family – 4-month old Newfoundland puppy named Faith.
"She is helping my kids to heal tremendously," Eliseo said.
The family has also received what WHUD and Honey Do Men call a 'Christmas Miracle' – a $1,000 gift card. In addition, The Yorktown Grange Fair and Frankie & Augie’z restaurant partnered to hold a "Dine to Donate" fundraiser for the family raising more than $1,400.
"We want to thank the community," Eliseo said. "The overwhelming support is unbelievable. [Rev. Msgr. Thomas Sandi] from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton said it best. He says he has seen the community together before, but never united like this. It didn't take just the fire. It took a four-legged hero to bring everyone together."
Watch the video above as Giulio Eliseo talks about the family's new puppy Faith and how much the community's support has meant to them.
To make a donation to the Eliseo family, visit the GiveForward Fund that has been set up for them by clicking here.
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Eliseo said he wants to suggest other dog-owners to put tracking devices on the collar of their pets so they could be tracked with a GPS.
"[It is] more important than the [microchip] because the chip only tells you who they are once they are at the vet's office," he said. "Her collar will actually track her by a GPS. That's a little more important if you really do care for your pets and they become your loved ones. You do not want to lose them."
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