ICYMI: Firefighters Help Lost Dalmatian Find His Way Home

TAMPA, FL — What’s the best place for a Dalmatian to go when it’s lost? Cliché or not, the answer seems to be a fire station.

At least, that was the case for Chico, a Dalmatian mix puppy who managed to find his way into Hillsborough County Fire Rescue’s Station No. 5 early Tuesday morning. Crew from the 1113 139th Ave. station in Tampa were just coming back from a call around 2:30 a.m. when they noticed the dog slide under the closing bay door after they got out of the engine.

Once inside, the critter “started loving on the guys,” said Corey Dierdorff, agency spokesman. While firefighters noticed the dog was a little dirty after his adventure, it didn’t take them long to realize he wasn’t malnourished, had no fleas, responded well to commands and even liked to shake hands.

That’s when the crew set out to do what it does best: make a save.

The critter was given a bath and spent the night at the station. The very next morning, the next shift on at the station contacted Dierdorff, and the mission began to find the dog’s rightful owner or a new home he could call his own. With no collar or microchip found on the dog, Dierdorff shot a video and took to the agency’s Facebook page in hopes of setting a reunion into motion.

“He was trained (and) would sit,” Dierdorff said. “We knew this dog belonged to somebody. The last thing we wanted was some family in tears.”

The video Dierdorff shot showed how well the dog behaved and just how much at home he’d already made himself at the station.

“He eagerly made himself part of the crew,” the Facebook post explained. “Unfortunately, he cannot stay and play. We would like to get him home.”

It didn’t take long for fire rescue to receive an outpouring of messages from people offering to take the dog, Dierdorff said. The owner also spotted the post and reached out. After positively identifying a few distinguishing spots on the dog “that we knew only the owner would know about,” fire rescue crew was able to return the dog, who is named Chico.

Dierdorff said the owner reported that Chico had been missing for about a day. In fact, station crew spotted him the night before near the intersection of Fowler and Nebraska avenues and thought he was out of place. As it turned out, Chico had wandered about a mile from his home during the day he was missing before stumbling on the fire station and getting a little help from some uniformed friends.

As for going above and beyond to help Chico, Dierdorff said it’s all in a day’s work.

“We would have done this for any dog,” he said. “That’s our job: to be there for the public whenever they’re in need. Dog life, human life, animal life, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure there’s a (positive outcome).”

And, cliché or not, Dierdorff said there was a long line of firefighters who had already signed up to take Chico home had his owner not come forward.

“He really fit in,” Dierdorff explained.

Photos and video courtesy of Hillsborough Fire Rescue