ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Buddy the German shepherd was hailed Friday as a hero for guiding Alaska state troopers through winding back roads to a fire at his owners’ workshop.
“Buddy is an untrained dog who for some reason recognized the severity of the situation and acted valiantly in getting help for his family,” Col. Audie Holloway, head of the troopers, said Friday at a ceremony for the 5-year-old dog.
Buddy received a stainless steel dog bowl engraved with words of appreciation from troopers for his “diligence and assistance.”
Buddy also received a big rawhide bone, and his human family got a framed letter documenting his efforts.
“He’s my hero,” owner Ben Heinrichs said, his voice breaking. “If it wasn’t for him, we would have lost our house.”
Heinrichs said he was working on parts for his truck April 4 when a spark hit some gasoline and ignited his clothes. The 23-year-old ran outside to stomp out the flames by rolling in the snow, closing the door to keep the blaze from spreading.
Heinrichs then realized Buddy was still inside the burning building and let the dog out. Buddy was not injured.
“I just took off running,” Hein richs said. “I said, ‘We need to get help,’ and he just took off.”
Buddy ran into the woods and onto Caswell Loop Road, where the dog found the trooper, Terrence Shanigan, whose global positioning device had failed while responding to a call about the fire.
Shanigan was about to make a wrong turn when he saw Buddy. The dog eyed the trooper and began running down a side road.
“He wasn’t running from me, but was leading me,” he said. “I just felt like I was being led. . . . It’s just one of those things that we’re thinking on the same page for that brief moment.”
