A Colorado police officer made headlines this weekend after a heroic video of him saving a dog from a burning car was shared on the sheriff's office Facebook page.

The POV footage, courtesy of the body camera he was wearing, shows Michael Gregorek pull up to the scene of an SUV engulfed in flames.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
Douglas County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
loading...

“Once I arrived on scene, first thing I see is a gentleman who ended up being the owner of the vehicle, and the owner of the dog, throwing something at the back of vehicle," Deputy Gregorek said, according to New York Post.

At first, he explained, he thought it was someone throwing some sort of “Molotov cocktails,” but caught on when the man screamed "My dog's in the car!"

“It flipped the switch from ‘It’s obviously not a crime’ to ‘Now we have a life,'” the deputy said.

Having a pet himself, Deputy Gregorek started hitting the windows with his baton, breaking them out to try and find a dog.

After breaking the back hatch, the labrador

“Hank comes to the back window, he’s salivating, you can tell that he’s in distress,” Gregorek described. “The owner was trying to pull him out, not successfully.”

Douglas County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
Douglas County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
loading...

He went on to explain what happened next.

“That’s his baby, I’m not going to get in his way while he’s trying to rescue his baby but the second he opens up an opening for me I just went in there and grabbed on and his body had already started to tense up, so I knew he was really in a bad way.”

It was then that Deputy Gregorek jumped in the way, and reached in to grab the dog. After tossing Hank into the snow, the deputy let the fire department know the car was now empty.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
Douglas County Sheriff's Office via Facebook
loading...

According to the New York Post, a neighbor said that his wife was a veterinarian who was on her way home and would be able to take a look at Hank. By the time she arrived, the dog was happily playing in the snow.

Check out Gregorek talking through the heroic rescue:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=682838943075959

Get our free mobile app

50 Famous Brands That No Longer Exist

More From 97.7 KCRR