A dog that alerted residents when their apartment building was on fire was found dead clutching her owner's purse.
Rocky Granata found Stella under a blanket in the rubble of the Woodbridge apartment that he shared with the mixed breed's owner Ann Marie Kelt.
The dog, who had been battling cancer and had a heart condition, awakened Kelt when the King Georges Road apartment building caught fire on Friday. Granata called for the dog to follow as they fled.
Neighbors thought the dog had run off.
Granata told the Home News Tribune Stella looked like she was resting with Kelt's pocketbook under her blanket.
The St. Georges Veterinary Hospital gave the family a keepsake paw print and arranged for Stella's cremation.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
