Woman Pulls Over On Highway When She Sees Dog Bogged Down By Heavy Chain

Ashli Garza was on her way to a work appointment in Texas when something caught her eye. It was a dog on the shoulder of the four-lane highway with a heavy chain draped around her neck.

As an independent rescuer, Ashli knows how tricky rescues like this can be. She thought if nothing else, she could snap a picture of the German Shepherd mix before she ran off.

But when she pulled the car over and opened the door, the friendly dog came right over.

The dog was covered in mud and was dragging along a huge rusty chain. It was wrapped around her neck twice, and Ashli didn’t even understand how the dog could hold her head up. She knew she had to take the dog right there and then.

She got the dog in the back of the vehicle and attempted to remove the 20-pound chain. But she couldn’t get it off on her own.

As Ashli continued her drive to work, she also watched the dog in the rearview mirror. The German Shepherd would stare out the window, lie down, and then get back up and do it all over again. Ashli could tell the pup had never been in a car.

Ashli ended up driving to her friend where they worked together on removing the chain. They were able to slide it over her head without cutting it.

The friend, Luz Guzman, volunteered to foster the dog, now named Penelope. And Penelope is doing so well now.

“Obviously, just from that chain, I can imagine how she was treated,” Ashli told The Dodo. “So her being happy-go-lucky is pretty shocking. It happened pretty fast.”

Ashli hopes this story will encourage others to do the right thing when they see a dog in need.

Ashli Garza

“A lot of people say, ‘I don’t know how to find all of these dogs because I never see strays and I never see injured dogs.’ But they’re out there. We drive past them all the time.” Ashli continued, “We need to have a heart. Compassion is free.”

h/t The Dodo