A miniature schnauzer climbs from
the rubble in Oklahoma City.
The idea was to celebrate Murphy's good heart, her keen curiosity, her feisty spirit. We had first-hand evidence of a schnauzer's remarkable spirit because Murphy filled our home with it throughout her life. But the world got an up-close look yesterday at a schnauzer's fighting spirit--thanks to a news video that might go down as the most touching moment ever captured in the YouTube era.
A reporter for CBS was interviewing tornado survivor Barbara Garcia amid the rubble of what had been her home and neighborhood. Ms. Garcia was describing how she had been holding her dog when the storm hit and chaos ensued, with seemingly everything that she had treasured gone. Ms. Garcia said she had called for her dog but he didn't come. "I know he's in here somewhere," she said, pointing to wreckage where there was no sign of life.
What happens next, starting at the :24 mark on the video, still takes my breath away--and fills my eyes with tears, even though I've watched it multiple times.
I can't tell if the dog is a pure-breed schnauzer or a schnauzer mix. But with the blunt muzzle and distinctive beard . . . well, there is no doubt this little survivor has deep schnauzer roots. And that indomitable spirit . . . I would recognize that anywhere.
