2 dogs safe after door of burning home kicked in by Robbinsdale police

A member of the Robbinsdale Police Department is credited with saving two Australian Shepherd dogs from a burning home early Sunday evening.

According to the police department, officers and firefighters were called to a home on the 4200 block of York Avenue North just before 7 p.m. for a report of a home filling up with smoke. Although the homeowner wasn’t home, police found out he saw the smoke building due to interior cameras. No one else was inside with the dogs.

When police arrived, smoke could be seen coming through the windows, and officers tried to find an open door or window to get inside.

Then, neighbors who were standing in front of the home and speaking with the homeowners over the phone told a member of the department — identified by Capt. John Elder as Sgt. Schoenhard — that permission had been given to breach the front door in order to save the two dogs.

After Schoenhard kicked in the door, the two dogs “immediately came out” and were placed in the home’s backyard.

Firefighters were able to then quickly extinguish a fire found in the basement. No major damage was done to the home.