Wisconsin police officer rescues dogs from Harvey flood waters

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It's a long way from Texas to Wisconsin -- but three dogs made the trip, after a police officer and firefighter rescued them from the waters and drove them back to the Badger state. 

There are three dogs in total - a brother and sister rescued from a high kill shelter outside Houston, and a third dog, found chained up and in rising flood waters, next to a companion dog who didn't make it. 

"All three dogs have been through so much," said Scott Holst, the police officer from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, who rescued them. 

When Harvey hit, Holst and his buddy, firefighter Scott Schmidt, knew they had to do something. So they called the Houston emergency number.

"They said, 'We are desperate, we are overwhelmed, the sooner you can get down here the better," Holst said. "That's when we decided to load up the boat with gear and get down there."

While volunteering in the relief effort, they were sent to Louisiana, where they were deployed with the Cajun Navy. While there, they met President Donald Trump, and Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards. 

"It was a very neat experience, very humbling," Holst said. "We took some time to meet them, but we knew there was more work to be done."

Of course, they also met the three pups.

"They said they found [one of the dogs] chained up next to his sidekick, and his sidekick had already drowned. If they hadn't gotten there when they did, he wouldn't have made it."

Holst posted the dogs' photos on Facebook. That's when his friends Tony Brucato and Hannah Egle reached out. The couple were just about to move in together. 

"I was like, "I've got my girlfriend moving in on Sunday. Have dogs move in on Monday? Why not?!"

Egle was not as eager.

"I was like, 'Well, I mean, possibly," she said. 

But in the end, the couple couldn't turn down the chance to help -- besides, they already had the names picked out.

"I think it's fitting, for what they've been through," Brucato said. 

Holst is currently trying to help the people he volunteered with in Texas get to Wisconsin for the Saints-Packers game on Oct. 22. If you would like to donate tickets or money, reach out to Julie Parise for more information on how to help. You can contact her via email or Facebook

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