This viral footage shows a kind man rescuing a cute pup in Alabama after seeing a cruel trucker abandoning it by the side of the road late one night.
The footage shows how Jonathon Romero, 32, came upon the sick scene while driving home from work at night. He pulled up by the side of the road as the trucker drove away, leaving the poor pooch all alone.
Jonathan immediately jumped out of his pickup truck and the dog, he said, came over, whined, and jumped into the vehicle. He can be heard saying: “OK, come on! Over here! You’re OK.”
The distressed dog can be heard yelping and whining, with Jonathan saying that he did his best to calm her down and reassure her. He added that the dog kept licking his face while he drove it home to his place.
Jonathan shared the footage on TikTok with the caption “there are shitty people out there. I refuse to be one of them”. It has since been liked over 1.7 million times.
Speaking to Newsflash in an exclusive interview, Jonathan, who said he was originally from Louisiana but now lives in northern Alabama, said about the event, which he said took place in north-western Alabama on 15th June: “I don’t know why he would have done something like that. Maybe she was too active for him and his family, they couldn’t afford her monthly meds, or a number of other things.”
He said that he felt “a mix of heartbreak, anger, and pity”. He added: “My heart hurt from her possibly being thrown out by the only family she knew, anger from someone who could do that to an animal, and pity for her own confusion.”
Jonathan added that the dog, named Maggie, gets on great with his one-year-old, Leila, and the family’s six-year-old chocolate lab Zoey.
Jonathan, who is a full-time college music instructor, said: “Maggie, the rescue, needed some ticks removed and some meds for hookworms, but other than that she was fairly healthy. She loves to run and play with our one-year-old Leila.”
He said that Maggie, who he said was a beagle and pit bull mix, was doing great, adding: “She doesn’t really have a favourite food, she just loves food.”
He also said: “Maggie loves to run. So fetch is her go-to. But she loves to play with Leila and tug with Zoey. The people on TikTok were amazing. They donated tons of supplies for both Maggie and local shelters. This entire event blew my mind. I never thought that I would ever go viral.”
