Just in time for Christmas: Couple who lost mobile home in fire win new house

JOHNS ISLAND -- For a while, it seemed all the luck Doris and Neal Davis could muster was bad.

Pine trees felled by storms almost wrecked their property, while a fire back in May rendered their mobile home uninhabitable.

On Monday, the gloom disappeared.

The married couple of 30 years were formally announced as the winners of the first Clayton Dream Home Giveaway, earning them a prize package that includes a 2,300-square-foot manufactured home in a style of their choosing, plus the inside appliances.

Total value: $150,000.

"We were just in awe," Neal Davis, 52, said after taking a first glimpse of his home-to-be on a sales lot in Moncks Corner. "We've never been in a new home."

The Davises' housing troubles date to May when their mobile home on Burnswick Drive caught fire in the middle of the night. They were saved after Princess, their extremely shy and hamburger- gobbling 3-year-old pet Lab, woke the household with a fit of uncharacteristically animated barking.

Everyone escaped unharmed, but for the past six months, family members have been living in a cramped home next door, with seven people sharing one bathroom.

Weeks later while driving around, the couple saw an advertisement that said Clayton Homes -- a major builder based in Maryville, Tenn., that has offices throughout the Charleston region -- was giving away a new home in a contest with one lucky winner.

They decided to enter, but so did 17,000 other people all trying for the grand prize.

As the weeks passed, the Davises soon forgot about the sweepstakes, until the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, when officials surprised them with the news they'd won.

"We'd never won anything in our lives," said Neal Davis, who works in construction. "We still just can't believe it."

The couple's story of being saved by their dog was not a factor in their winning, officials said, since the grand-prize recipient's name was determined by computer pick.

"There was nothing to do with their backstory," said Tony Masarelli, regional manager for Clayton. "It was a completely random process."

The family chose a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit that will house the Davises, one of their daughters and her boyfriend. Also getting space are Princess and their other dog, Marley, a yellow Lab. The couple has four other children of various ages.

Construction of the new home will begin in January. The house will go up on the same lot where the Davises' fire-damaged mobile home once stood.

The company also is paying any taxes associated with the award.

Neal Davis said the prize is an answer to a prayer.

"I've played the lotto 1,000 times, and I never won anything," he said, adding, "Christmas comes today."

Reach Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551.