Dallas County

Winter Storm Provides Opportunity for Neighborly Love

Grand Prairie woman and her Siberian husky give neighbors warmth

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Neighbors helping neighbors and doing something good for each other is what Chelsea Kretz is putting into practice in her neighborhood in Grand Prairie.

"Love thy neighbor, right?" said the public information officer for the city's police department. And that's exactly what she did Monday afternoon.

She and her Siberian husky, Jetson, jumped into protect-and-serve mode when her neighbor rang the doorbell looking for help. "He asked if he could charge his cellphone because they went without power, since three that morning," Kretz said.

Kretz is one of the few in her neighborhood who has power at her home, and she was happy to help.

A few hours later when she returned the phone to her neighbors, she learned just how tough it was on them.

"I turn around and they're sitting in their car warming up," she said. "I heard a humming sound and could see steam coming from the back of the car. He gets out and says, 'Hey, Chelsea, we're warming up in here.'"

Kretz wasn't having that and quickly made them an offer she was glad they didn't refuse.

"Y'all just need to come over and warm up for a little bit, OK," she told them. "And they came over, and I got 'em set up on the couch and lit a fire for them."

And that's when Jetson extended his own version of a welcome, jumping up on the couch with his thick coat of fur and sloppy kisses.

"Gave 'em a lot of love and warmed 'em right up," Kretz smiled. "I feel lucky I have power, but I also feel guilty I have power, and in that moment, I did what you're supposed to do and said, 'please come inside my home and get warm.'"

Kretz shared the video on social media to encourage all of us to take time to check on our neighbors - and do what we can to help each other get through the winter storm.

"I work for a police department and have public service in my heart and I'm doing the best I can in my own neighborhood to help out," she said.

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