NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A good Samaritan is helping a South Florida woman search for her service dog in-training after the animal went missing following a car accident on Jan. 19.
On Tuesday morning, Patrick Bord was on a mission as he returned to the location where the accident happened to post flyers of the missing Sharlay after he helped Sharmaynne Thomas escape a fiery crash.
“We’re animal lovers, first and foremost,” he said on a Northwest Miami-Dade street as he began working. “We have our own puppy. Her name is Mia, she’s 13 years old. We can’t imagine if Mia ran away, how we’d respond. We would want somebody to help us out.”
Thomas, an army veteran, lost her service dog in the midst of the chaos. Her 8-month-old dog, named Sharlay, has been missing since the accident which occurred at the intersection of Northwest 32nd Avenue and 54th Street.
“If someone finds her, please be nice to her,” said Thomas in an exclusive interview with 7News on Monday. “If you can please give her back to me. I need her. I miss her.”
Monday’s interview included Bord speaking to 7News about the incident.
“Just as I approached 32nd Street. I saw the semi go through a red light, just blow into the truck in front of me,” said Bord as he remembered seeing the crash on his was to work that day. “As I get off my bike I hear ‘Help, help, help.'”
On Jan. 19, Thomas and her canine were on their way to a training session when they were in an accident.
“I heard the boom. It sounded like a grenade going off,” said Thomas.
As fire rescue arrived on the scene of the red pickup truck engulfed in flames, Thomas said her service dog disappeared.
“I was trying to hold her. She was frightened and she just leaped out,” said Thomas.
In an interview on Tuesday, Bord said he remembered Sharlay run away.
“The puppy just took off, like a bolt of lightning,” he said.
Thomas said she could barely move while inside the damaged car, later finding out her foot was broken. Her calmness during the crash served as a testament of her army training.
“Patrick yelled. He said ‘Listen we gotta get out of here! You smell that? Look the car is burning! You gotta get out. It might blow,'” recounted Thomas.
Smoke and flames could be seen coming out of Thomas’ car. Bord said he knew he had to move quickly.
“I put my arms underneath her armpits and pulled her outside of the truck. We went down on the ground. I got her about five yards away from there and then the truck just started going up, up, up, more, more, more, — qshhh,” said Bord as he gestures the explosion with his fist.
Thomas said Bord’s quick actions saved her life.
“He made me feel safe and secure and I knew everything was going to be alright,” said Thomas.
Bord not only helped rescue Thomas, but now he’s on a mission to find Sharlay.
“We’re just asking the community to help us out here maybe we can bring Sharlay back to Sharmaynne and reunite the two together,” said Bord.
“It’s nice to help out people that already served,” expressed Bord. “She was a vet and she served our country. They’ve sacrificed for us and I think this something we can do for them. The least we can do is help them out when they need something as well.”
Thomas is thankful for everything that this stranger turned friend is doing for her.
“He is my hero. He is so great,” she said.
Thomas remains in the hospital recovering.
The 8-month-old German Sheppard is micro-chipped and disappeared with a red service dog vest. Anyone with information on the dog’s whereabouts is urged to contact Sharmaynne Thomas at 786-210-1791.
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