Cyclists out for a group ride in Columbus, Georgia, returned to town with an extra companion after discovering an injured puppy on the side of the road. Hit by a vehicle and left for dead, the five-month-old pup had a broken leg, broken toe and some serious grazing from his ordeal.
Although malnourished and injured, the puppy instantly trusted cyclists Chris Dixon and Jarrett Little, gobbling up the high-energy snacks the duo offered. There was no way the kind-hearted pair were going to leave the Great Dane cross behind.
“We couldn’t leave him,” said Little. “Out there where he was next to Oxbow, he was going to end up alligator food. In my head, it was, “We’re saving you from that now, we will figure out the rest later.”
After deciding to take the puppy back to town with them, they had the tricky task of figuring out just how to cycle 7 kilometers with an injured dog on board!
Dixon tried unsuccessfully to carry the oversized pup on her handlebars. But Little managed to ‘piggyback’ the brave canine, slipping the dog’s hind legs into his back pockets and helping steady him with one hand as he rode.
On arrival back in Columbus, the rescuers happened to walk past Maine native Andrea Shaw, who was in town doing business. The puppy immediately approached her, licking her face, and it was love at first sight for both parties.
“It was immediate,” said Dixon, “She said, ‘I am keeping this dog.’”
Shaw said she decided then and there that this abandoned dog would be coming back to Maine with her. But first, she took the lucky pup – who she named “Columbo” – to a local vet. He needed four pins in his rear leg to stabilize a bad fracture and had to wear a cast on his front leg for the broken toe.
Image Credit: Adventures of Columbo
Columbo, also known simply as “Bo”, is well on the road to recovery. He has settled beautifully into the family home – a horse farm in Maine – with his two coonhound dog brothers, Levi and Pluto. The pampered pup even has his own Facebook page, with plenty of adoring fans.
The rescue was a string of happy coincidences that started with a simple act of kindness and ended with Bo finding his forever home with a loving family – it demonstrates the power of compassion in changing lives.
What a lovely happy ending.
We cyclists will figure it out! Great work! Its always encouraging to learn that there is still some compassion out there. I love stories like this.
We cyclists will figure it out! Great job and great compassion.I love these stories. We need more of them.
Chris and Jarrett, you are truly good and compassionate heroes. Thank you so much for that selfless act. And to Andrea for giving “Columbo” a forever home that I am sure is filled with lots of love and happiness for him. You, too, are a great person and I wish all the best for all of you.
Lindo maravilhoso, AMEI. Minha eterna gratidão. Vc salvou a vida dele, heroi
God bless you! Thank you!
Kudos and blessings to those good Samaritans!
Bless those lovely people. We need more stories like this.
After all the stories of cruelty it does your heart good to read about the lovely people who go out of their way to help an animal in distress.
Oh well done this pair. Thank goodness there are some kind hooomans in this world of never ending animal cruelty!
What an ingenious way of transporting the long legged puppy!
x.x.x
Thank you kind people for rescuing the puppy off the side of the road and to the woman who took him home after getting him to the vet. I am so glad to hear he is in a happy home now who will take good care of him.
Lovely couple and kind new family Columbo has now! God bless them all!
Oh good for you. Thank the rescuers for having the heart to help that baby. Thank the lady who took him in and added him to her lovely canine family. I am proud of you all. Melts my heart.
Thank you Jarrett and Chris for saving Bo and adopting him.
True guardian canine angels.
What an awesome story!! Cheers to all involved. Bo hit the jackpot after almost not making it.
Bless you for saving Bo.
Bless you for saving Bo.
It warms my heart to know there are still good people in this world! People who go out of their way to show love , kindness, and compassion because they care about animals. My faith in humanity has been restored so glad Columbo found love and a forever home! The cyclists are true heros it is nice to see good conquer evil for a change!!!!!
This bicyclist who carried this injured dog all that way is so brave and compassionate for animals. What a wonderful person she is. This poor pup was all alone and injured until his guardian angel came along and saved him. If everybody was as kind hearted to our innocent animals, then this world would be a much better place to live in.
Hooray for animal heros like this! More people in this world need to overtake those animal abusers and torturers! Inhumanity has to become obsolete and states/countries across the world need to enact extremely stiff penalties to protect all animals and put away those who would cause harm to any living creature!!!
Thank you Chris and Jarrett- I admire you for stopping and helping this puppy- you are a hero in my eyes.
Thanks to all who helped Bo and I’m pleased he has a happy home.
Great thanks to both of you Jarrett and Chris for your kindness, and to you Andrea for your enormous generosity in every way ( I know that vet bills can be astronomical ) and your great loving heart.
Bless you, all.!!!
Brilliant. Thank u all.
Wonderful beautiful people that rescued this poor dog.AWESOME!! I would have done the same. three yrs ago I rescued a pit bull in The Bronx one hot summer day. Poor dog was limping down the street. I stopped and went to pet it somewhat afraid it would bite but he licked my hand. I picked it up and put it in my turck. His paws were bleeding from the hot pavement. Fed it and gave it water. Didin’t know what I was going to do with him. Couldn’t take him home. Slept in my truck with him.Next morning took him to Manhattan Animal Hospital. Picked him up next day and paid $800. Drove 3 hrs to a pit bull rescue shelter in NJ. It was so stressful but I was so happy knowing that dog was safe. Will do it again and again and again. Love animals so much.
Bless your heart !!!
Wow – you truly have a heart for animals – I was happy to read your story. After all the horrorible reports about animals suffering unbearably I long to hear there are people who just do whatever they can or whatever is needed to help a living being. Thank you ! I am glad you were there to help the dog ! I hope he found a wonderful forever home !!
PAWSOME ACTS OF GREAT KINDNESS DUDES/DUDETTES!!! U ROCK as does COLUM’BO’ who extremely welcomed the cyclists & hero girl who took him into her home with her other 2 coon hounds! This is EXACTLY what the world should be like. . . CARING, LOVING, KIND PEEPS LIKE ALL OF YOU!!!! GREAT JOB ALL AROUND FOLKS!!! WELL DONE !!!
That horrible person who inflicted that torture upon the poor puppy shame on you To the lovely person who came upon the poor fur baby Thankyou for your kindness and the help of the helpers
Thank you for helping the FurrBaby
This beautiful dog was dumped in the woods, starving and hit by a car that kept driving. The pain and suffering endured by Bo is heartbreaking. Thank you God for bringing angels in the form of two cyclists and Andrea to intervene and make this a happy ending. I will never forget the photo of Bo on the back of one if the cyclists. You are beautiful!
Well done, cyclists. You are heroes.
I love such stories ! People just help – they are not discussing possible problems first – they act. There is a creature in need – they help. And as it turned out, there were no problems at all. Just a lucky happy dig with a perfect lucky new owner – happy end !!!
Another tear jerker. Pals for life.
Love,love,love,everyone (heroes in my book)involved in this story. Thank you for posting this .We need to hear about the positive,compassionate acts to blunt all those other types of stories.
So glad to have people like this around the world. And the nice people who kept him and gave him a great life.Thanks to all you for getting him the help to fix him up. I’m sure he loves you for it and is showing you
Thank you for helping this pup you were his guardian angel in time of need it showed that people out there care and to the jerk who hit the pup and left him there karma will get you
Thank you for your kindness.
I hope the people who hit him hear about your saving the puppy’s like and feel shame. Hopefully they will learn kindness is a way of life.
What a great story! Good luck Columbo!
PAWS UP to Chris, Jarrett and the other cyclists who saved this little furball. And PAWS UP to Andrea for helping Bo with the vet and adopting him. 🙂
WHAT AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF GOOD PEOPLE HELPING POOR ANIMALS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
What a lucky dog to have been found by such caring people. It is fortunate that Little was able to stabilize Columbo for the bike ride since Columbo had to have his injured leg in Little’s back pocket to make the ride work out. What a heartwarming story. Thanks to all of you for making Columbo a winner.
And my faith in humanity is restored… for this hour.