Inside this destroyed home in Ketchican, Alaska, a decade of blissful memories for husbands William and James Montever.

So we've been together 42 years now.

They were just days from closing the sale of this three-story home.

I told Bill, I said, You know what? I really love this house, and I'm going to miss it. And 20 minutes later, it was all over.

Your world literally turned upside down.

It completely, yes.

Their house sliding 47 feet down this hill, crashing into another home. The hillside so unstable, the neighborhood was evacuated.

It sounded just like a jet engine taking off. So I thought there was a jet crashing in. He thought a plane was about to land in the house, and the wall came and through the sofa, threw me up into the ceiling where I just like how it was my shoulder, and then dropped me back down on the sofa, which is where I cracked the four ribs.

One person was killed in the landslide, and had it not been for their dishwasher, William believes he would have died, too.

So when the wall came down on top of him, it was actually protected by the dishwasher that he was under. So we owe a big thank you to Bosch.

Thanks to rescuers, the couple managed to get out with injuries, but their optimism intact. However, their two dogs, Alani and Cassie, were nowhere to be found.

Either they didn't make it or somebody had found them, that was holding on to them, but didn't how to get in touch with us or whatever was going on. So we basically said our private goodbyes to them.

One week after that horrific ordeal, engineers doing an assessment heard something unusual coming from inside that collapsed home. He heard a wimpering coming from the structure. So that started a response from us. Firefighters assembled like heroes crawling through the unstable house.

It was like a three-foot crawl space. So I was chiming through that and then back up into that foot-and-a-half void to the couch. And I saw eyes I was elated. I got a really high-pitched, excited voice. I was like, Oh, look how I found the dog.

I see eyes and they're blinking. The sisters were successfully pulled out. The pups wrapped in blankets, safe in the arms of their rescuers.

You're doing cool.

Alani and Cassie finally reunited with their dad. How are your girls?

They're wonderful. They're amazing. I mean, even the vet was surprised. Oh my gosh.

I got boost bumps right now. Do you guys believe in fate?

Yes. Yeah.

Call it fate or good fortune. This couple sure has earned their fair share. A reminder that even when all is lost, love can find its way back. Dana Griffin, NBC News.

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