Good Samaritan saves bulldog from Colorado highway
It was a dark and stormy Colorado night in the Castle Rock area when Bear the 5-year-old American bulldog went missing.
"I opened the door and there was just mud and just debris everywhere. I think all that water and everything just gushed and pushed that door completely open," said Kate Diz.
Diz and her family returned to their Happy Canyon home on June 9 to find the laundry room door open and a member of the family gone.
"I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, he's gone. How are we going to get him back?'" said Diz.
"We looked all over the place and he wasn't there," said Diz's 3-year-old son Hawke.
Despite searching the surrounding woods, Bear was nowhere to be found. Diz says he gets agitated during storms and likely ran off and got lost.
"A whole sleepless night. Lots of stress. I felt really sick to my stomach because he's like one of my kids," said Diz.
The next morning, Diz posted on social media. Soon, hundreds of strangers were invested in the search for Bear.
"People just praying for us, 'Hey, can we come and help? What are the cross streets?' Absolute strangers just reaching out," said Diz.
Sightings started pouring in.
"(One sighting read) 'Looks like your dog around northbound I-25 just off Happy Canyon.' So then our hearts sunk, because we were like he wasn't going to survive that," said Diz.
But Monday afternoon, Diz's phone rang.
"He said, 'I have your dog.' He's our guardian angel. Honestly, I feel very grateful to him,'" said Diz.
On the other end was Anthony Kreashko.
"She started crying and I started crying," said Kreashko.
He said he'd been driving north on Interstate 25 when he spotted Bear by the median on the highway, between the Castle Rock Parkway and Happy Canyon exits.
"I was in the middle lane and I literally stopped my car, left my door open to go chase him," said Kreashko.
Kreashko chased Bear to the shoulder and up a muddy hill, before catching him and putting the dog in his car.
By then, veterinarians were closed, so Kreashko slept in his car with Bear overnight, then called Diz the next morning.
"It's the right thing to do and I love dogs. As far as I'm concerned, that's someone's family member," said Kreashko.
Diz would agree. She drove to Colorado Springs for the reunion.
"Quite overwhelming because I was fearing the worst all day," said Diz.
Now, her family is whole again.
"Super emotional. My house felt complete when we got him back home and he had a big bowl of food. I think he was happy to be home," said Diz.
"Bear just licked me. I was so happy and he was so happy to be home," said Hawke.
And has a new honorary member in the man who risked his life to save Bear.
"I regard him as like part of our family. When you see somebody's love for animals, it just really speaks to their heart," said Diz.
Kreashko was able to contact the family because Bear was microchipped. Diz says the story serves as a reminder to take that step to protect your pets. The family now has an AirTag on Bear.
It's also a tale about the power of social media. Diz wants to thank everyone who helped share her post and bring Bear home.
