Casually Kristen

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colorado — If dogs are a man’s best friend, this Deputy proves it’s a two-way street.

On January 22nd at 4:20 p.m., the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says dispatchers received a call about a car burning in the Roxborough subdivision. Officer Deputy Michael Gregorek responded immediately.

“First thing I see is a gentleman who ended up being the owner of the vehicle and the owner of the dog, throwing something at the back of the vehicle,” he said, “About a month prior my team had made an arrest for someone who was throwing Molotov cocktails at a car. So my first thought is OK, do I have this going on?”

The Sheriff’s Office says something electrical in the dash of the car caught on fire, trapping a dog inside. Deputy Gregorek says he quickly realized there was no crime being committed, but there was a life at stake. Without hesitation, Gregorek grabbed his retractable baton to bust open the rear window.

“Hank comes up to the back window, he’s salivating, you can tell he’s in distress. The owner was trying to pull him out, not successfully,” continued Gregorek, “I just went in there and grabbed on, and his body had already kinda started to tense up… My thought only at that point was he’s coming out with me regardless of, ya know, whatever else may be happening. Smoke or fire, nothing else really mattered at that point other than getting Hank out of the car.”

Within no time, Gregorek heaved Hank out of the car and placed him out of harm’s way.

Now, Gregorek is being hailed a hero.

“I’m a dog parent… My only child is a dog. So I would have done the same thing whether it be baby, human, dog, cat. A life is a life, and I treat it as such in a situation like that,” he said.

Happy feel-good Friday!