NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A lucky pooch is back with his family just in time for Thanksgiving, one day after he had a “ruff” night.
Seven-year-old Dio is OK and back in his owner’s arms after he was hit by a car and somehow wound up wedged inside the vehicle’s grill.
This dog tale started when Dio’s owner opened the door at home and the pooch ran off, at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“My brother saw the news, and he saw that a dog was inside the car, and it’s pretty wild,” said the brother of the dog’s owner.
That’s when Reggie and several other good Samaritans at a Sunoco in Northwest Miami-Dade got to work.
“A young lady pulled up, and she had a dog stuck inside the grill,” said Reggie.
At the gas station, located along Northwest Seventh Avenue, a still picture shows white fur poking from that car’s grill.
The rescuers could see and hear the problem, but it wasn’t an easy fix.
“He tried to bite me, and then he crawled up inside the car,” said Reggie. “We tried to pull it out. I asked the guy, and he went to grab the blanket just so the dog wouldn’t bite us.”
“The logical thing was to use a blanket to cover myself, cover everybody else. The problem was he was stuck in there,” said said one of the rescuers. “I wanted to get him out. I had to do it forcefully, but I didn’t hurt him.”
It was a collective effort. They performed under pressure, pulling out the pooch, very much intact, appearing to be healthy but clearly shaken.
“He’s scared, he’s scared, but he knows that he’s out of the woods,” said one of the rescuers.
“Those gloves that I had on [were] to make sure the dog don’t bite me,” said Reggie.
Reggie told us he was the first to see the woman pull in, and he and others discovered the dog stuck.
“I was praying to God that it wasn’t dead, but you know, God is good,” said Reggie.
The man with the blanket who helped make the rescue didn’t want to give his name or show his face, but he told 7News that this was his holiday deed.
Wrapped in a blanket, Dio was reunited with his owner, Wednesday morning.
The owner of the dog said his mother was outside and the dog heard her voice and ran outside to go see her before getting lost.
“I think he was so happy to hear my mother’s voice, that’s why he run,” he said.
“Thank you, Channel 7. I’m so grateful for this moment,” said Dio’s owner.
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