Missy, Victory & Indiana

Missy, the bay mare, and her two companion black goats, Victory and Indiana, are becoming famous. They belong to Alan and Cindy Martin, who live near Franktown. They were the animals rescued on live TV by the helicopter pilot and two fire trucks during the Burnt Tree fire on Thursday. The Martins were stuck in traffic, trying to get home to rescue the critters, and had to listen to what was happening being relayed by a friend on a cell phone, who was describing the scene as shown by 9 News. (I would have been a basket case!) The work of a South Metro Fire crew and helicopter pilot Brian Toomey helped douse the flames. "I've had days where I can't hit the broad side of a dang barn," Toomey said. Toomey is a pilot for Rampart Helicopter Services, a private fire-fighting helicopter service near Castle Rock. On Thursday, his accuracy was spot on. "It's luck, and I don't get 'em all," he said. Toomey says he dropped a total of 70 buckets of water at 350 gallons each in a three-hour period. (I thought they were 100-gallon buckets...) "It was attacked very well," Alan Martin said. "The firefighters were amazing, and the helicopter drop..." Cindy Martin said, "I watched it this morning, and I can't believe how precise and how amazing - if it hadn't been for him...."
CU Buffs are continuing to advance in the NIT and WNIT. Gators play Butler today in the Elite Eight. ... Today, the Louisiana Derby will be run at the Fairgrounds (1 and 1/8 miles on dirt); at Gulfstream will be the Pan American Stakes (1.5 miles on the turf); Santa Anita will host the 1.5 mile Tokyo City Cup (on dirt); and Aiken has the restricted Budweiser Imperial Cup over a 2-mile flat course. The Dubai World Cup races are underway at the Meydan Racecourse: JJ the Jet Plane has won the 5-furlong Al Quoz, the first race, by a head. Kinsale King, last year's winner of the Golden Shaheen (with a $2 million purse), has broken out in hives and has swollen legs; he has been scratched from today's race.
Lovey and Nedi are making much of me, and I, of them....