Their home was on fire, and their two dogs had perished as a result. Most of their belongings disappeared, and they were in a completely understandable state of shock.

“It was just overwhelming at first,” Heinen said.

Stuhldryer, who was at work at South Story Bank and Trust in Huxley, recalled that when she was first contacted about the situation, the individual on the other end of the phone wouldn’t tell her about the status of their two dogs, Saki and Wrigley, and a sinking feeling set in quickly.

“He just said that they had pulled the kennels out, so when I got there, of course, my daughter and son-in-law were there, and she just got out of the car crying. So I knew they were gone, and that was the worst part,” she said. “But the sheriff said that if there was anything good to come from it, it was that the smoke got them. They didn’t burn or anything like that. The firefighters got them out once they were in there, but it was too late.”

The aftermath of the fire, which caused the house to be declared a total loss and left the couple with little other than the clothes on their backs, is shown.

Saki, a dalmatian, was 2 ½ years old, and Wrigley, a French bulldog, would have turned six in February. The house is considered a total loss, but if their neighbor hadn’t had Heinen’s phone number, it may have burnt to the ground before they arrived. The smoke damage was extensive, and the firefighters had to cut holes in the floor to get under the crawl space.

“All of our belongings are gone, so we basically, (last) Friday night, we just had the clothes on our back and that was it,” Stuhldryer said.

With the wedding coming up yet this year, she had already bought her dress and decor, and all of it was irreparably damaged by smoke. Heinen said the fire was determined to be caused by an electrical shortage to the water heater.

“It was just so hot in there that you could see every nail hole that’s in the drywall,” Stuhldryer said.

Out of all of the sadness, however, both Stuhldryer and Heinen, who works at Hoglund Bus Company in Marshalltown, have been reminded why they moved to Melbourne in the first place. For one, they’re thankful they weren’t home at the time it happened, and they’re humbled by the generosity of people who have donated clothes, furniture, money and more.

News of the ordeal was shared on the “Melbourne Happenings” Facebook page, and the couple started receiving Venmo donations from people they’d never met.

“They’re like ‘You don’t know us, but we’re your neighbor down the street, around the corner or whatever,'” Stuhldryer said. “Dana’s work has been really good, and my work’s done a collection for us too. It’s just amazing. We’re still getting little things here and there.”

For now, they’re staying at a temporary rental in State Center where they plan to be for at least a year, and Stuhldryer has relished the opportunity to spend time with her 8 ½ month old grandbabies after work. The long-term plan is to rebuild at the same spot in Melbourne. Heinen cited a love for the place where they live and the people they live near as the primary reasons, and he singled out Becky and Gary Fricke (Gary, Stuhldryer added, was on the scene handing out cookies and chips to the firefighters), for praise.

“We can’t ask for better neighbors,” Heinen said.

Anyone interested in donating to the couple can do so in a number of ways:

Venmo (https://venmo.com/u/Jessica-STUHLDRYER),

A meal train (https://www.giveinkind.com/inkinds/O2R5L5V/meal-train-for-jess-and-dana),

Gofundme (https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-dana-and-jessica-house-fire),

MidwestOne Bank in Melbourne, or

The Saint Paul Lutheran Church in State Center where Stuhldryer’s daughter, her husband and his family (Nicole and Ethan Terrell and Kris and Randy Terrell) are members. Pastor Melissa Waterman has been leading an effort to get the word out, and Stuhldryer said the congregation “has been so wonderful to us.”