Grocery shopping is typically not a very exciting event.

However, freshman Jeff Verhoeven’s trip to Daniel’s Sentry was anything but typical.

Around noon on Sunday, Verhoeven noticed a 1987 Ford F250 truck smoking in the parking lot of Sentry as he and his parents pulled into the parking lot.

“The second we saw it and we saw that there were dogs in there, I got scared for the dogs,” Verhoeven said. “We started rushing towards it and then when I saw that it was actually starting on fire is when I got really scared.”

Verhoeven’s fright of the flames was extinguished when his adrenaline took over.

“[My] adrenaline was just pumping,” Verhoeven said. “I just wanted to get the dogs out of there and get both [my dad and I] out of there safely. It was just excitement, nervousness, adrenaline … everything happened so fast that I cannot even explain it.”

The dogs were freed from the burning vehicle when Verhoeven and his father opened an unlocked door. Verhoeven

said one of the dogs jumped out immediately and ran off, but the other one had to be pulled out of the truck by his collar.

One of the dogs ran off after being freed and, as of Monday night, has yet to be found.

Verhoeven’s father was pulled to the ground by one of the dogs and scraped his knee, but neither had extensive injuries.

Patrick Wellnitz, first assistant fire chief for the Whitewater Fire Department, said the vehicle was a complete loss. No injuries or other property was damaged, Wellnitz said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined but no suspicious activity was involved, Wellnitz said.

“By the time we got there, it was too far burned to determine [the cause] accurately,” Wellnitz said.

The owner of the truck was shopping inside Sentry when his car started on fire. Wellnitz said the owner was surprised but not too shaken up.

Wellnitz said 22 firefighters were sent to the scene after a citizen called 911 to report the incident.