STERLING, Ill. — 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 and Officer Justin Hackbarth pulling Shango from the home under heavy smoke.
"When you're on a scene like that, whether it's a dog or a person, that's the most serious thing going on in that scene. Everything else is secondary... save the life and then worry about everything else later," said Kraus.
After carrying Shango to a safe place in the front yard, the two officers begin resuscitating the dog.
"I knew right then and there, my priority was to get the dog alive," said Hackbarth.
The officers said that a good samaritan held Shango's head as they performed chest compressions. Following a couple of minutes of administering CPR, Shango begins to breathe again.
"We don't know who that gentleman was. He was a passerby who hopped on him and helped out and then once the dog was doing better, he just got up and walked off... we do want to tell him thank you for helping us out," said Kraus.
Bellows said she owes the police officers and the good samaritan thanks for saving Shango's life and keeping her family intact.
"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.
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.
Bellows said there are plans for Shango to meet with Brinkley, a Sterling Police Department K9 so that the two heroes can meet.
"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.
Unfortunately, a second fire occurred at the home later that day, displacing the family. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family find a new home.
Despite the circumstances, there's little doubt that Bellows and her kids are just happy that Shango is alive and healthy.
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