Sometimes we find ourselves in unexpected situations and we feel that it was not a coincidence. Our path in life changes suddenly and everything makes sense.
While Chelsea Keeland was away visiting her sister, an unexpected visitor wandered into her yard. Her neighbor noticed a little animal running around the house and crying out as if it was calling for help.
When Keeland checked her security camera, the creature looked familiar, but it was hard to tell what it really was.
When she finally returned home, she rushed outside to get a closer look and was stunned.
A Mysterious Visitor
Keeland saw a small pup who looked scared and lost. The markings around his face reminded her of coyote pups she had seen online.
He was hungry and shivering from the cold.
Keeland was committed to helping him. There was a storm coming, and she couldn’t leave him outside.
She and her sister wrapped him in a blanket, placed him in a crate, and carried him inside, hoping he would feel safe.
“A storm was rolling in,” Keeland told The Dodo. “So it was like the clock was ticking.”
A New Family Member
In the beginning, the puppy was cautious and alert. He wasn’t sure if he could trust his rescuers.
However, as the storm drew closer, he curled himself into the blanket and felt safe at last.
By the next morning, his fear disappeared, and he allowed Keeland to pet him.
She took him to the vet, expecting to hear he was a coyote.
Instead, she learned he was a dog.
Keeland named him Yote because of his coyote-like appearance.
She and her husband believed that Yote had an owner who was looking for him. They hung flyers and checked for the owner, but no one came forward.
As days passed, Yote started following Keeland around the house. He got attached to her. He stayed close as if he was afraid she might disappear.
Keeland and her husband, Steven, hesitated to welcome Yote in their family.
They weren’t sure if they were ready for another dog because they had recently lost their beloved pup, Leroy, and they still felt heartbroken, but Yote gradually won them over.
The couple noticed similarities between Yote and their late dog.
He curled up where Leroy used to sleep. He tilted his head the same way. The gentle way Yote gazed at them reminded them of Leroy.
“I slowly just got more and more attached,” Steven told The Dodo.
It seemed as if Leroy had somehow sent this little pup to them, nudging them to open their hearts again.
“[I]t was almost like the universe saying, like, ‘You do need another dog in your life and you do have room in your heart to love another dog,’” Keeland added.
They realized that Yote belonged with them.
A few months later, Yote settled fully into his new home.
He now spends his days exploring the yard.
He feels happy because his family cherishes him and loves him immensely.
The frightened pup who once cried alone in the yard has found the family of his dreams, and we’re over the moon for him.