Officer Saves Dog From Fire

Video of a rescue during the California wildfires circulated social media channels worldwide and captured the hearts of millions. The video shows an officer in Arvin, California trying to rescued a frightened dog that was chained up and hiding between a fence next to a burning mobile home. As the heat intensified, Officer Adam Calderon vaulted over a fence and worked amid blazing heat to save a chained dog from a raging fire.

After learning that the dog was chained in the yard, Calderon jumped a rickety 6-foot fence, found him cowering just beyond the flames, and got to work trying desperately to free him, eventually using hedge clippers. As Calderon’s body cam footage shows, the process took time and all the while, the officer comforted the scared dog with kind words as the flames threatened to overtake both of them.

Calderon said “My back was already on fire. Whenever I was able to shelter the dog, my back was burning, and at one point I thought I was going to have to give up. I just hope it motivates people to do the right thing at the right time. And I hope any officer can put an animal ahead of his life like we put people ahead of our own lives.” Once the dog was freed, Officer Calderon rushed the dog away from the heat and sat on a curb comforting him while they recovered from the heat. Calderon is receiving a Compassionate Action Award from PETA after saving the dog.