Dog who found first West Mesa victim honored
Posted at: 06/04/2009 10:16 PM
| Updated at: 06/05/2009 7:36 AM
By: Cris Ornelas, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com
Ruca
Were it not for Ruca sniffing around the area, the women may have never been found.
When she and her owner were out on a walk in February, she came across a bone. It turned out to be a femur from the first of 11 bodies.
At Thursday’s monthly vigil to remember the women, Ruca and her owner, Christine Ross, were honored by the families.
Victim Michelle Valdez’s father said Thursday, "Had it not been for her reporting that, I’d still be sitting at home now wondering where Michelle was -- as the other families of the missing and the identified wondering where their loved ones were also."
Ruca and Ross were presented with a custom collar, bearing the letters W-M-W for “West Mesa Women,” the dog’s name, and a bone that represents the one Ruca found.
They also got a basket full of dog treats and a gift card for a day at the dog spa.
Christine Ross remains humble.
"Just offer my condolences if they need help with anything I’d like to be involved with whatever they need me to do," she said.
Ross is overwhelmed by the response from the families and says she and Ruca just did what anyone else would do.
The families disagree.
"As far as I’m concerned she [will] always be a hero, she'll go in my book as a hero and the dog Ruca also," Valdez told Eyewitness News 4.
One-hundred Albuquerque police detectives are working the case. No suspects have been named, and four of the victims still remain unidentified.
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