What’s that, boy? Timmy is stuck in a car?
A four-legged hero lent Kentucky police a paw during a search for a missing child in his neighborhood, with the pooch grabbing their attention and guiding them to the boy, new bodycam footage shows.
Louisville Metropolitan Police officer Josh Thompson and his fellow cops were searching for a missing 3-year-old boy on Jan. 7 when an unnamed collie mix appeared and began barking at them, the police video shows.
Thompson said he was a “little leery” of the dog, who he did not recognize despite his usual patrols, but the dog was persistent and barked directly at the officers as though trying to get their attention.
It was then that Thompson jokingly relented and acknowledged the dog.
“Hey, let’s go find this kid,” Thompson told the dog, prompting the collie to run into a backyard.
“At this point, I’m thinking, ‘This kid is in the backyard,’” Thompson said.
As Thompson looked around in the backyard, the dog came to him to lead the officers to the garage area, where a car was parked.
When officers looked in the car, they found the frightened child locked inside the car in the front passenger seat.
Thompson said he immediately went into “dad mode” as he tried to instruct the boy on how to unlock the door so the officers could get him out.
“He hit the door latch, and I just gave him the yank motion. He yanked, and I pulled that door open quickly,” Thompson said. “And he jumped from the car, bear hugged my neck, and wouldn’t let go.”
The boy was scared but unharmed and was quickly reunited with his family.
As the cops celebrated the successful rescue, they were seen petting the hero dog and thanking it for its help.
“Lassie found him,” one of the officers cheered.
“I don’t know where the dog came from, but it was a blessing from God that day,” Thompson said.
Sean Calloway, a local resident, said the dog who helped the officers is a known friend in the Okolona neighborhood who looks to walk the streets when the weather is good.
“He’s always out here like this, but he’s a good dog,” Calloway told WLKY, introducing the collie.
“You’re a hero,” Calloway added as he petted the so-called “Louisville Lassie.”