A dog leads an Alaska State Trooper to a burning building

Service and Assistance Dogs are heroes every single day. But even pets can sometimes be heroes. Today, Friday April 23, a dog will be honored with an engraved silver plated dog bowl for incredibly and bravely leading an Alaska State Trooper to his master's burning workshop. "Buddy", a German Shepherd Dog, will be given the award at the Alaska State Troopers Headquarters building at 5700 E. Tudor Road in Anchorage.

(CASWELL LAKES, Alaska) – Alaska State Trooper Terrence Shanigan's police cruiser dashcam shows a German Shepherd Dog leading the way through winding back roads to a roaring house fire on his owners' property on April 4th. 

Click to watch video on YouTube

The Alaska State Troopers said Buddy and his owner, 23-year-old Ben Heinrichs, were in the family workshop when a heater ignited chemicals. Heinrichs told Buddy: "We need to get help." The dog eventually found a trooper responding to a call about the fire.

Buddy's master Heinrichs suffered minor flash burns on his face. The workshop was destroyed and the house suffered minor damage.

.