When a man named Bill was driving home to Missouri after a fishing trip in Arkansas, he didn’t expect to finish his trip with another passenger in the car. Bill had quickly stopped to use the restroom and throw away some trash, leaving his front car door open as he was only going to be quick.
But when he got back into his car, he was surprised to find a stray dog sitting in the passenger seat.
The dog was clearly desperate for help. She was starving hungry, and when Bill offered her a Rice Krispie Treat – the only thing he had in his car – the dog quickly wolfed it down. Bill knew instantly that he couldn’t put her back outside, as it was certain that she would starve to death.
Luckily, the dog seemed to have known that Bill was the right person to go to. Bill and his wife often take in stray animals, and their loving house is full to the brim with dogs.
Bill texted his wife a picture of his new hitchhiker, and his wife immediately offered their hospitality.
“I asked him what our new dog’s name was,” Angela Shaver told The Dodo. “We decided to call her River because of where she found him.”
As Bill and River arrived home, Angela and her son came out to greet their new arrival. But although River didn’t seem too scared, she refused to get out of the car. It seemed that after possibly months of living out in the streets, this was the one place that she felt safe in.
After some time, Bill carried River out of the car, and she was introduced to her siblings one-by-one so that she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.
The family had three rescue dogs and a rescue cat already, so River was going to fit right in.
“Once they all decided she was OK, he [Bill] brought her in for a bath,” Angela said. “She was covered in mud, blood and ticks. After she was dried off and some ticks picked off, she got a good meal. Bill made her a bed on the floor in our room next to the space heater. She slept there all night.”
After a long night of much-needed rest, River awoke the next morning with a new sense of curiosity and began to cautiously explore her new home.
Bill and Angela noticed that she appeared to be housebroken, so it was likely that she had lived in a home once before, before becoming a stray.
“We had one accident in the house the first night,” Angela said. “But it was near the door. She had to go, but didn’t know how to tell us.”
River’s mom and dad decided to take her to the vets, where it was discovered that she had tapeworms, heartworms and wounds on her neck and face. But despite all of her injuries and illnesses, she was growing happier by the day- thanks to the loving home she had been provided.
River soon healed, and is now settling happily into her new life. Her confidence continues to grow every day, and we bet she’s forever thankful for the kind man whose car she jumped into who decided she deserved another start to life.
“She runs in the yard and chases nothing with Winston, sits for cookies with Ginger and hogs the bed with Butters,” Angela said. “The cat was very unpleased for the first few days, but is finally coming around.”
“We had one accident in the house the first night,” Angela said. “But it was near the door. She had to go, but didn’t know how to tell us.”
River’s mom and dad decided to take her to the vets, where it was discovered that she had tapeworms, heartworms, and wounds on her neck and face. But despite all of her injuries and illnesses, she was growing happier by the day – thanks to the loving home she had been provided.
River soon healed, and is now settling happily into her new life. Her confidence continues to grow every day, and we bet she’s forever thankful for the kind man whose car she jumped into who decided she deserved another start to life.
“She runs in the yard and chases nothing with Winston, sits for cookies with Ginger and hogs the bed with Butters,” Angela said. “The cat was very unpleased for the first few days, but is finally coming around.”
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