Heroic Sheriff's Deputies Risk Their Safety to Rescue Trapped Dogs From Burning Trailer
Purple Collar Pet Photography / Getty
Two sheriff's deputies in Candler County, Ga., sustained burns while saving two trapped dogs near a burning trailer in a dramatic rescue that was caught on video.
According to the Candler County Sheriff's Office on Facebook, Deputy Coursey and Capt. O'Brien were assisting firefighters at a trailer fire in Metter when they heard two dogs barking in the distance.
In the suspenseful body-camera footage, the officers run through the wooded area to save the trapped pups. One dog, who looks to be a black Labrador retriever, is attached to a chain and the other pup is trapped inside a metal cage just feet from the blaze.
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"That's way too hot, man," the officer wearing the body camera says while approaching the fire. He then attempts to cut the chain loose with a pair of bolt cutters, but the metal is too thick. Quickly thinking, he simply undoes the dog's collar to set him free. As soon as his collar comes off, the terrified dog runs to safety.
Warning: The video of the rescue below displays dogs in distress and the footage may be upsetting.
The officers then move to save the other dog who's trapped in a kennel that is surrounded by debris. One officer uses the bolt cutters to move the empty cage to the side. But in a desperate attempt to save the pup, the other cop appears to burn his hand on the hot metal above the trapped dog. Despite the burn, the officer picks up and dismantles the cage, allowing the pup to escape.
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Safely away from the fire, the freed dogs wag their tails around two officers discussing their burns. One cop says he burned his hand, and the other says he burned his hair. But the two didn't seem to mind facing injuries in order to save the pups' lives.
"Hey, we got the dogs," one officer says to the fire crew.
And it's a good thing they did. Minutes after the rescue, firefighters at the scene discovered propane gas tanks dangerously close to the blaze. Thankfully, the crew quickly put the fire out and removed the tanks.
It's unclear whether the dogs' owners were at the scene of the fire when the rescue occurred. However, Capt. Justin P. Wells tells Daily Paws that following the dramatic rescue, both dogs were surrendered to the City of Metter Animal Control and are no longer with the original owners.
In Georgia, a person convicted of willful neglect of an animal can incur up to 12 months of imprisonment, a fine up to $5,000, or both.
Wells says the incident "is still under investigation," so it's not clear if the owner will face any charges because of the animals' state when the officers arrived to rescue them from the fire.
We hope these two pups find happy homes now that they're safe from the fire, and no longer kept outside in the hot Georgia summer weather. Hats off to Coursey and O'Brien for their heroic rescue—the true meaning of "protect and serve"!
