Rose Romero, former coordinator for the visually impaired at the Southwest Center for Independence in Cortez, poses with her service dog Ivy, who recently died after becoming trapped in Romero’s collapsed garage following a burst water pipe. Photo courtesy

Rose Romero’s dog Ivy died after becoming trapped in the garage of her Albuquerque home

A former Cortez resident and coordinator for the visually impaired suffered a tragic accident last week when a water pipe burst, the garage of her Albuquerque home collapsed and her service dog became trapped.

Rose Romero’s dog, Ivy, was found dead on August 9 after she was unable to escape the July 28 collapse or be found earlier. Now Romero and community members are calling on the city of Albuquerque to change its approach to similar emergencies.

“The city views dogs, service dogs or other pets as property and not as someone who is so important to us,” Romero told a magazine Reporter.

The burst water pipe occurred in the street in front of Romero’s house, sending water and mud high into the air. According to the petition, written by Maisie Reynolds, the burst could have been avoided if the known problem had been fixed.

Community members called on the city to send a search and rescue team to find Ivy, who is nearly 14, but instead they were met with “inexplicable resistance,” the petition said.

According to an article in Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jason Fejer said a crew went to Romero’s home and found the garage unstable. Holes were drilled into the garage on Wednesday, but contractors were unable to access the area. The discovery on Friday was thanks to the holes, Romero said. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Ivy was Romero’s guide dog as she has been visually impaired since 2009 and is now officially blind. Due to a retinal detachment, Romero had to have her left eye removed in 2009, so she received a well-made prosthetic. Then in 2010, she developed glaucoma in her right eye. Now she only sees in shadows and uses various devices such as special lights, magnifying glasses and color contrast technology to help her in her daily life. Ivy has played a big role in this.

The petition to change the City of Albuquerque’s pet policy has 1,587 signatures as of 3:15 p.m. Monday. The next goal is 2,500 signatures. To sign the petition, visit bit.ly/IvyPetition.

“What I need is your signature on this petition. This is important to change the system,” Romero said.

Romero lived in Cortez from 1996 to 2017. During that time, she worked as a visual impairment coordinator at the Southwest Center for Independence. Before that, however, she worked as an aide in the school system. She applied because she met a woman with a disabled granddaughter and no one was able to help her, so Romero took on the job.

During her time as a coordinator for the visually impaired, Romero encouraged the visually impaired to go on and live their lives. She was available to offer advice and support at any time of the day or night. Ivy accompanied her on home visits and the couple became well known in the community.

“I believe you should take the right path, not the wrong one, and move on,” Romero said. “I wanted to be a role model, an example for people that it’s OK if you’re disabled, but that doesn’t mean you’re dead. You can move on and do other things.”

Romero had already experienced many tragedies in her life before she lost her dog. Her little daughter, Tiffany, was born prematurely and had to undergo 20 surgeries. Unfortunately, she died during the 21st operation. A year and a half later, her husband died of esophageal cancer.

Despite all this, Romero continues.

“I try to use all the negative things to do something better or different and help someone else,” Romero said.

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