Life on the streets is not pleasant in the slightest. Trying to survive while looking for a warm shelter or fighting for scraps can be the hardest task, but since it is most vital, every animal has to do it.
Unfortunately, that is exactly what the golden boy of today’s story had to go through.
Survival Mode
A stray Golden Retriever was wandering the streets of a village, looking for some food. After she managed to find a piece of bread, she carried it in her mouth, trying to find a safe place where she could enjoy her treat.
A dog lover by the name of Ayberk Ayar saw this sweet little pup with the piece of bread in her mouth and snapped a photo. Finding it both sweet and heartbreaking, she decided to post it on her Instagram.
Ayberk asked the locals about the pup, wondering how she got there in the first place. They told her that the dog had been carelessly abandoned and was wandering the streets for two weeks.
Tracy Behnke, an intake director at Rescuers Without Borders (RWB), based in Goldsmith, Texas, saw the photo and immediately knew he had to do something.
“We knew that she would end up starving or getting hurt really bad. Golden retrievers just can’t fight as well as the other bigger dogs. I was just taken with her, and I thought, ‘We need to do something for her’,” said Tracy.
Rescue Mission
The team at Rescuers Without Borders asked a couple of volunteers to find the pup and take him off of the streets. When the volunteers arrived at the area where the dog was last seen, he was nowhere to be found.
They went around looking for her, and people were saying that there was a man who had a golden and was driving around, trying to sell her.
As soon as the volunteers heard this, they feared for the worst. They assumed that the man was trying to make a profit by selling her for breeding purposes.
With this in mind, the rescuers decided to try their best and find this poor pup.
With the help of other villagers, they were able to locate her in a kind of a run-down shed. It was dark and there were no windows, and she had no food or water.
A volunteer managed to get inside and carry the Golden Retriever, now named Harper, outside in her arms.
As soon as Harper got into the rescue car, she understood that she was in a safe space, and she could finally relax.
They said she was so sweet. She was giving kisses, which is kind of unusual for a dog. I think she definitely knew she was going to safety again.
New Life
Harper went into foster care as the RWB team tried to figure out the fastest way to fly her to the U.S. Luckily, everything went smoothly, and as soon as she got her medical checks and paper, she was aboard a flight heading to San Francisco.
Tracy, along with her husband, made their way to the airport, greeting Harper and welcoming her to her new country. As soon as they met, both the hoomans and the doggo fell in love with each other.
She’s a sweetheart. Everyone who has met her so far is in awe of how sweet a dog can be coming from that situation.
Unfortunately, Harper’s street life still had a hold on her, as she was very timid and hesitant to accept food.
We offer her food, and she almost looks like she’s not sure if she can. My husband actually ended up hand-feeding her to get her to eat. It was just like she was thinking, ‘I don’t want to get in trouble.’
Final Word
Harper ended up getting into a foster home in Washington state, where she took some time to adjust to the life of living in a warm home.
She came out of her shell and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is great’. She was playing and running like it was the most amazing thing.
I am sure that after a bit more time, this golden girl will manage to find the perfect forever home where she will forget all about her past and live the life she always deserved.