Local business, community member honor fire station

?Newton Fire/EMS Station No. 3 had a very special visitor Friday morning.?Dan Stroud brought his dog, Ruby, to greet the firefighters at the station — firefighters who had saved Ruby’s life several weeks ago.?When Ruby was trapped inside a burning house on Aug. 12, firefighters rescued her and administered oxygen therapy using a pet oxygen mask donated by Invisible Fence of Central Kansas.?Stroud wanted to find a special way to thank the firefighters for their service, and so he presented the department with a handmade cross plaque.?“He just thought it would be a neat way of saying thank you to the fire department,” said Dan Heinze with Heinze Insurance. Stroud was insured with Heinze Insurance, and Heinze helped coordinate Friday’s event.?“This was a big deal for them,” Heinze said of Stroud and his girlfriend. “They are animal lovers.”?Ruby is now on the mend, and she excitedly explored the station Friday morning.?Stroud said he was thankful for the firefighters’ compassion and dedication to their job.?“You take it to heart when you enter someone’s house (that’s on fire),” he said.?Newton firefighters Dan Bronson and Bobby Johnson, who had worked to resuscitate Ruby, were both at the station Friday to accept the plaque.?“It was certainly a team effort,” Bronson said.