Rick Ramsay, the sheriff in Monroe County, Florida, left, and Hero Fund Chairman Mark Laskow, right, presented the Carnegie Medal to Carnegie Hero Donald C. Lowrie during an on-air segment of the “Morning Magazine” show on US1 Radio in the Florida Keys on Feb. 3, 2021.
On May 6, 2018, Lowrie, of Islamorada, Florida, was outside his home in a condo complex when he heard an 8-year-old girl screaming from a neighboring unit. Following the sounds, Lowrie, who then was 50, ran to the front door of the condo, where the girl had just been severely wounded by two adult dogs. The girl’s mother had intervened and allowed the girl to flee to an upstairs bedroom.
When Lowrie arrived, the dogs chased him, causing him to fall down a flight of stairs and break his wrist. One of the dogs — a male pit bull — bit him in several places, while the female pit bull mix stood nearby, barking. Both Lowrie and the girl were taken to the hospital with major injuries requiring surgery.
“Just to tell you how serious [this award] is, 20 percent of the people who receive this Medal actually died in the rescues,” Laskow said before presenting the Medal to Lowrie.
“He’s going to be able to cherish and remember a difficult time in his life but a time where he made a difference in some young girl’s life who’s here today because of Don and his efforts as a hero,” said Ramsay, whose office responded to the scene.
Lowrie, who works as a mechanic for the Monroe County government, came to the Hero Fund’s attention when Laskow read a story about county officials publicly recognizing his actions. Daryl Greenlee, the county’s fleet manager, also attended the presentation.