RICHMOND — At 1:30 a.m. on Christmas 2021, Benjamin, the resident canine well-loved by Hilltop Orchards co-managers David and Sara Martell, awakened and peered out the bedroom window of their nearby house.
Seeing and smelling smoke, the 80-pound American pit bull terrier mix (with traces of Rottweiler and Akita) barked out an alarm — a potential conflagration was in the making down the hill at the farm’s production and retail center.
“I can’t give up on him and his quality of life,” Sara Martell said. “He’s only 6 years old. I miss having him able to run around the apple orchard on four legs. It’s been heartbreaking.”
Thanks to a quick 911 response by Richmond Fire Chief Steven Traver and his volunteer crew, the building was saved, though there was several hundred thousand dollars in damage. “If it wasn’t for the dog, the whole building would have gone up,” he told The Eagle the day after.
“He’s our little hero dog,” Sara said, proudly.
“If the fire had gone unattended for a couple minutes longer, we would have lost everything that’s here,” David added. “They were able to stop it in a reasonable amount of time. With only minimal insurance, we did the repairs ourselves,” backed by the Vittori Family Trust, owners of the business. “They reinvested the money to get everything back together, to support us and the business.”
“He’s our little hero dog,” Sara Martell said of Benjamin.
Now, it’s Benjamin who needs a heroic response.
Adopted in December 2018 from the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter in Pittsfield, Benjamin came with genetic knee deformities — orthopedic lameness from a displaced kneecap and ruptured knee ligaments — that require specialized, costly surgery.
“He was the only dog who didn’t bark, and he had these beautiful, soulful eyes, so I fell in love with him,” Sara recalled during a conversation at the century-old Hilltop Orchard and its subsidiaries, Furnace Brook Wine and JMASH Cidery. “This was the perfect forever home for a dog, so he joined us and became part of the family.”
The Martells, natives of East Chatham, N.Y., are reluctant to ask for help.
But friends have started a GoFundMe crowdsourced campaign to help give Benjamin a better quality of life.
The gentle creature hobbled out of the Martells’ home, warmly greeting this reporter during a recent visit. The dog has had three unsuccessful local surgeries between April and July 2022. Now, the couple has a consult scheduled Oct. 8 with an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Paul McCarthy of Sturbridge, who has ties to Fitter Critters in Lee, a physical therapy clinic for canines founded in 1999 by Judy Chiquoine.
Last January, an additional “odd, crazy complication,” a “smoldering infection” was diagnosed, also requiring treatment, Sara said.
Benjamin, the dog who alerted Hilltop Orchards managers David and Sara Martell to a fire, came to the family with genetic knee deformities.
“Now, we’re back at square one, but he’s worse than where we started,” the couple pointed out, because of their dog’s scar tissue, trauma and the effects of anesthesia. Benjamin is also on several pain-relief medications costing $500 a month.
Still, the couple had a long heart-to-heart discussion to decide whether they wanted to seek donations, in part to help cover medical expenses they’ve paid out of pocket.
Citing Hilltop’s community donations to area food pantries and food banks, and the 25 employees they’ve hired at the business, David noted that “we always preach to people that you receive what you give. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to receive this time. We had never asked for anything. Benjamin had a pretty rough start to his life.”
With upcoming surgeries anticipated, the total outlay is expected to range from $22,000 to $25,000, he said. The couple has already spent, or financed, over $20,000 so far.
Much of the time, the dog is housebound and on sedation, with physical activity mostly limited to swimming in nearby Queechy Lake and at Fitter Critters, which has an indoor aquatic program.
“I can’t give up on him and his quality of life,” Sara said tearfully, ruling out amputation for now. “He’s only 6 years old. I miss having him able to run around the apple orchard on four legs. It’s been heartbreaking.”