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In March of 2013, I was driving down a highway, approaching a small country town in South Carolina, when I saw a small brown dog lying on the side of the road chewing on something. As an avid animal rescuer, my heart always goes out to the animals I see on the side of the road, but this dog had such a magnetic pull on me, I had to turn around.

DOG. PHOTO: PIXABAY / MATHIAS LECHNER

As soon as I pulled over behind her, she ran across the road into the woods. Luckily, my 6-year-old had left a half-eaten Pop-Tart in the car that morning, so I grabbed it, pulled off my heels, and followed the dog into the woods. I finally coaxed her over to me, which probably would never have happened without that Pop-Tart. I carried her back to my car and gave her some water. She was covered in ticks and fleas and stunk to the high heavens!

I took her home and bathed her with Dawn. She was so afraid of people and cowered in such a way it seemed as if she had been badly mistreated. I planned on just fostering her since I already have two other big dogs, but everyone who expressed interest just didn't feel right. Her fear of people also held me back, but she had come to trust and love my daughter and me explicitly, and we had absolutely fallen in love with her. We named her Gypsy.

PHOTO: ASHLEY FROM SUMTER, SC

She sleeps right up against me every night and has the most comedic personality of any dog I've ever met. While she is still afraid of most people, and even shies away from us if we make sudden movements, she is so gentle and loving. Eight months after I found her, a dog fighting ring had been busted in that small town. We'll never know if that's where she came from or what kind of trauma she experienced before, but this dog has saved me more than I ever could have saved her.

Story submitted by Ashley from Sumter, South Carolina.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!