The four Torchio brothers were together, as they often are, hiking and exploring in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Between them they own five dogs that they call “the pack.” On the April 1 trip, the Erie natives were accompanied by a Brittany named Remnar and George, a beagle. When Remnar fell into a geothermal hot spring boiling from the Earth, Brent Torchio, 23, “instantly and without regard for his own safety, jumped in to save his friend’s life,” Christian Torchio, 33, said in a phone interview. The dog was completely submerged. Brent, a recent Penn State University graduate, went waist-deep into water that his brothers think was at least 170 degrees. Philip Torchio, 30, went into the water up to his shins. “Brent shoved the dog out of the water to us,” Christian said. Then he, Philip and Andrew, 32, who is Remnar’s owner, pulled their younger brother out of the water. What came next was a horrific 2½-hour drive through the northern Nevada desert to get medical care. Brent Torchio has second- and third-degree burns on more than 20 percent of his body. Remnar was much worse, scalded all over her body. Her eyes were burned and her nose was burned off. “We think Remnar swallowed the boiling water,” Christian said. The dog was treated by an emergency veterinarian in Lakeview and then by another vet in Bend. “We got her home. She made it through the night,” he said, but died at 1:30 p.m. the next day….more detail
