Last week, on a scorching hot day in Tennessee, Kaye Fiorello was driving along a highway when she saw a highway patrol officer parked on the side of the road. At the time, she didn’t think much of it, but it turned out to be a very positive thing.

Continuing on her way, Fiorello saw something else that gave her pause.

“About a mile away, this little dog’s head appeared on the side of the road,” Fiorello told The Dodo. “It looked like it had been there for some time.”

Fiorello wanted to get help for the abandoned puppy and knew exactly where to find him.

Kaye Fiorello
Thinking about the officer she’d seen, Fiorello turned her car around and went back the way she’d come. She pulled up next to the officer and told him about the dog, not realizing that this exchange would change both of their lives forever.

“He asked her where she was and took off after her,” Fiorello said. “I followed him and pointed out the area.”

Upon arriving, they noticed the dog appeared injured and scared. At first, she was wary of the officer’s arrival, but he brought her food and water in an attempt to gain her trust. But it didn’t stop there.

After calling for help from animal control, he sat next to the puppy, holding an umbrella to protect her from the scorching sun.

Kaye Fiorello
Seeing her dedication to the dog, Fiorello was deeply moved.

“He said, ‘I’m going to sit here until she trusts me,’” Fiorrello said, adding that the dog seemed to sense the officer’s kind heart. “She seemed to breathe a sigh of happiness. And those doe eyes… the difference was like night and day. They connected. It was powerful. I was crying tears of happiness for that girl.”

And it turns out this connection wouldn’t be fleeting.

Tennessee Highway Patrol
Fiorello had to continue on her way before backup arrived, but she later learned that the dog had been successfully rescued and taken to the vet for treatment. She suffered a hip fracture, but it wasn’t something she had to face alone.

The officer would be by her side through that part, too.

Kaye Fiorello
A week after the dog was found on the road, injured and alone, she found a home. The officer decided to keep her forever.

“She was adopted! She got her today!” Fiorello said. “Her name is Princess, and she’ll be coming home from the vet in a couple of weeks, maybe two.”

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Kaye Fiorello
For Fiorello, whose instinct to get help for the injured pup culminated in the puppy’s world changing forever, Princess’s happy ending couldn’t have been more perfect.

“It was like it was meant to be,” she said.

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