Conway cop honored for finding Yogi the Yorkie

Wear a badge long enough and the war stories accumulate.

Reggie Hill’s police career spans 19 years, and the Conway lieutenant can easily rattle off some memorable cases.

There was the shooting suspect who jumped out of a car at a police checkpoint. Hill tackled him. And there was the vicious wife-beater, the one Hill locked up and monitored until the pounding of a judge’s gavel announced a hefty prison sentence.

The officer’s actions have earned him commendations. He’s also heard kind words from victims, those most appreciative of his work.

But this month’s recognition at Conway City Council was a first for Hill: he was honored for reuniting a dog with his owner.

"We take an oath to protect and serve," said Hill, who oversees the department’s patrol division. "Well, service comes in all different shapes, forms and sizes."

In Hill’s case, service took the form of finding Yogi, a 13-pound Yorkie from Myrtle Beach.

Last September, Yogi’s owner Pat Loomis was driving back from dog-sitting for her son in Fort Mill.

As the retired nurse chugged down U.S. 501 in Conway, a truck merged into her lane near the Chick fil A restaurant.

The crash sent her car down an embankment. A window shattered. Yogi panicked.

"Somehow Yogi managed to jump right out of that window and didn’t stop running," Hill said. "She was all tore up about it, quite naturally, because to her it was like losing a child."

Loomis wasn’t physically hurt, but she was worried about her tiny 5-year-old terrier, the one who got his name because he looked like a bear as a puppy.

"I can’t find my dog," she kept screaming.

It was the middle of the day and the summer traffic was humming along. Yogi doesn’t venture out of the house much, and Loomis feared he’d be flattened by an unsuspecting driver.

"He was petrified," she said.

Hill radioed a description of the dog, his collar and his name. He let Loomis ride in his patrol car. They listened as other officers in the area described what they were seeing.

There’s a dog, one would say, but the pooch wasn’t Yogi.

Hill then began checking with nearby businesses.

"We’ll go to every office until I can find this dog," he told her.

After a few minutes, he dropped Loomis off and kept looking. Then he got a call from a title loan business. They’d found a small dog.

Hill walked in and asked about the animal.

"As soon as I said ‘Yogi,’ the dog come running," he said.

When his patrol car pulled up beside Loomis, Hill asked her: "Anybody wanna buy a dog?"

"There was Yogi," she said. "I don’t know who was happier, him or me. I kissed Officer Hill and thanked him profusely."

Unbeknownst to Hill, a few days after the wreck, Loomis sent a letter to the Conway Police Department.

"I believe any time somebody goes out of their way like that for you, they deserve recognition," she said. "I’m a dog owner and I’m a dog lover. If you’ve never loved an animal and lost one, you have no idea [of] the attachment."

Earlier this month, Conway City Administrator Bill Graham told Yogi’s story to city council when he presented Hill with the employee of the month award.

"They kept looking until they found Yogi," Graham said. "Reggie went beyond the call of duty."

During that meeting, council members voted on a multi-million dollar road project. They agreed to set aside hundreds of acres for conservation. But at the end of the meeting – the time set aside for council member comments – it was Yogi they gushed about.

"I’m very sensitive about dogs," said councilman Tom Anderson. "I appreciate that."

Hill hasn’t spoken to Loomis since the reunion. He hasn’t thought much about the incident, either.

He doesn’t even own a dog.

"But I have children," he said. "To a lot of people ... once they retire, their pets at the house are their children."

Hill insists the best thing about the whole ordeal was its conclusion. In his line of work, the day doesn’t always end well.

"I just chalked it up as a good day," he said. "That’s what I’m supposed to do."

This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Conway cop honored for finding Yogi the Yorkie."