Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time with the cameras rolling.
In this case it was a volunteer with the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office in Ash Fork, Ariz. who had been waiting for his turn to leave the parking lot of a Shell gas station along Route 66 about 50 miles west of Flagstaff.
As the volunteer’s dash cam video reveals below, a tractor-trailer finished making a turn in the lot and then the unthinkable came into view: there was a dog tied to the rear of the truck.
For a second or two it’s hard to believe what you’re watching as the truck picks up speed and heads for the exit with the dog breaking out in a forced run behind.
But no worries. The Volunteer in Protection, or VIP, wasted no time in turning on the lights and siren and chasing down the truck which hardly made it out of the parking lot. The station’s camera shows another angle as the VIP takes off like a shot after that truck.
“A very grateful owner retrieved his pet and expressed deep appreciation for the VIP’s efforts,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook. “Patrol VIPs act only as eyes and hears when they are in the field, but this exception to use lights and siren to save this dog from injury or death has been deemed warranted by YCSO Command Staff. The driver was simply distracted and headed towards the interstate forgetting to unleash his dog. No charges are being sought. Thanks to the work these dedicated volunteers do day in and day out and for the actions of this VIP to save this dog.”