When Deputy Hammell left his patrol car open and running on a chilly winter evening, he had no idea there’d be a surprise guest in the passenger seat when he returned!
Hammell, an officer with the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office in California, was investigating a suspicious vehicle around one in the morning. He kept his car running so it stayed nice and toasty, leaving the driver’s side door ajar. That’s when Ruger, a Black Lab who’d been lost, found a safe place to warm up!
Hammell returned to the cruiser to see the doe-eyed dog looking up at him. Of course, the officer couldn’t leave the sweet pup out in the cold. Instead, he went to work tracking down his family.
Using the information on his collar, Deputy Hammell had the dispatchers locate the owners’ address, and he gave Ruger a lift back home! The pup felt so comfortable and relieved, he even fell asleep on the short drive.
As it turned out, Ruger’s worried family had been looking for him all evening. Needless to say, they were all very happy to see each other again!
“Thanks for picking up my dog! He chose a cold night to explore Tuolumne,” Ruger’s human wrote on the Tuolumne County Sheriff Facebook page. But Hammell was happy to have the extra company – even just for a little while.
“We enjoyed having him for a short ride along this morning and are thankful we were able to return him to his family,” reads the Sheriff Office’s Facebook post. “Remember if you are lost and see a Law Enforcement Officer they will help you find your way home!”
