This Stray Dog Was Rescued Because She Appeared On Google Street View
GoogleGoogle Street View has exposed the wonderful, the weird, and the surreal, but this may be the sweetest use of the map feature yet.
Patrick Pittenger had noticed a stray dog hanging out near his work in Long Beach, California and would occasionally bring her food and water. But when he and his girlfriend, Jennifer Velasquez, noticed that the pup actually showed up in Google Street View (above and below, in the lower right corner), the couple decided to call animal rescue group Hope For Paws for help.
Sure enough, Eldad Hager, Hope For Paws' co-founder, undertook a mission to save the dog. He found her in almost the exact same location as seen online. The dog, named Sonya, had apparently been stranded in the area for 10 years, according to a local business owner, and was found crouching under an old truck to escape the brutal August heat.
Hager tried to lure her out with bites of cheeseburger and Sonya trusted him enough to take bites directly from his hand. She eventually came out of hiding, mangy and walking with a limp, and Hager cornered her in a nearby parking lot, where he was able to put her on a leash.
Hager brought Sonya to a groomer and, with her fur shaved short, vets could see tumors, ingrown dew claws, and broken teeth. She recieved surgical intervention for those issues, along with arthritis, and two bone spurs on her lower back.
Pittenger's mother, Joan, has adopted Sonya. Both Patrick and Jennifer Velasquez are overjoyed.
"It was amazing to see her that day. She looked so different without all the hair," Pittenger told The Huffington Post. "I think we all got choked up and were so happy for her and us."
Check out Hager's video of the entire, heart-melting rescue: