In Bluffton, South Carolina, a police officer named Doug Armstead experienced the biggest blow in his life: his house was burned to the ground on December 1st, 2016. What made the tragedy even worse was when his beloved dog, Anni, died due to suffocation.
Officer Armstead’s wife and five children, on the other hand, were all safe from the fire. They were out of the house when the fire occurred.
Eric Swanson and his wife, Lottie Campenella, both firefighters who responded to the scene, had seen how devastated Officer Armstead was after finding out that his beloved dog didn’t survive the fire. He was heartbroken and couldn’t stop crying about the loss of Anni.
Officer Armstead was known to be a dedicated police officer in his community. Lottie was determined to do something for Officer Armstead’s family so that they would be able to recover from their losses. She had thought of giving Officer Armstead’s family a new puppy.
Before she planned a surprise for Officer Armstead’s family, Lottie asked around first if the family was ready to have a new dog in their family. When she confirmed that the family wanted to have a canine companion, she started to organize a party for them.
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived at Officer Armstead’s temporary home riding on a firetruck. Santa Claus was carrying a German Shepherd puppy to be given as a gift to the Armsteads. As soon as Officer Armstead saw Santa Claus and the puppy, he couldn’t stop crying. He immediately hugged the puppy and held it in his arms.
The surprise was indeed a success! Thank you, Lottie and Eric, for organizing the special surprise for Officer Armstead and his family! Having a dog in the family would help in their recovery from the trauma as they started to rebuild their lives again.
Photo screenshot from WSAV News 3 On Your Side via Facebook
