Two Sterling police officers perform CPR on a dog that was rescued from a house fire
By: A Sterling family is thankful for the life-saving efforts of two police officers who rescued their dog from a house fire.
On Sunday, Dec. 31, around 5 a.m., Cheyanne Bellows was awakened by the bark of her dog Shango.
"I just heard him, and it was a bark, like, 'Mom, something's wrong', you know, and by the time I got to the middle of the stairs it was hot and there was smoke," Bellows said.
Bellows said she and her three kids were able to safely escape their home using the back door, but Shango was trapped in the front of the house.
"It broke my heart. Like I felt like I left a kid inside. So that was rough," Bellows said.
Responding Sterling police officers found Shango unconscious on the front porch. Bodycam footage shows Officer Alex Kraus pulling Shango from the home under heavy smoke before Officer Justin Hackbarth begins resuscitating the dog. After a couple of minutes of administering CPR, Shango begins to breathe again.
According to Bellows, Shango spent one night at the vet and was given medicine, breathing treatments, and eye ointments for cornea burns. The five-year-old pitbull-bulldog mix is doing well and on the road to a complete recovery.
"I owe them the biggest thank you ever, you know, they went above and beyond to go in and get my dog... from here, we have all of our pieces. We may be missing things, but you know, the real people are here," Bellows said.
Bellows said there are plans for Shango to meet with Brinkley, a Sterling Police Department K9.
"They had said that their dog Brinkley would like to give his fellow hero friend a gift. And I'm like, Oh, I mean, dogs are like your protectors... like my dog legitimately saved our lives," Bellows said.