By Kevin Smith
While walking her dogs along a canal, Maria Harrington noticed her pets barking intensely at something below. Scanning the area, she discovered an abandoned dog lying motionless in the canal.
Fearing the worst, Harrington tried to rouse the dog by calling out and tossing a nearby rock. Her persistence paid off when the dog, later named Fritz, lifted his head in response.
After returning home with her own dogs, Harrington went back to the canal, where she found a couple who had come to help after seeing her Facebook post. Together, they carefully lifted Fritz to safety.
“I have four dogs already,” Harrington told Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. “What am I going to do with him?”
Despite being a senior pup and moving slower than Harrington’s other dogs, Fritz quickly adapted to his temporary home. He joined the group on walks and seemed to relish his newfound safety.
Realizing she couldn’t keep him, Harrington reached out to Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, who welcomed Fritz with open arms.
“This dog’s story of neglect and rescue touched my heart,” Sherri Franklin, founder of Muttville, said. “We had to give him a new beginning!”
Muttville took care of Fritz’s medical needs and placed him with a dedicated foster mom who was eager to help him heal. That foster mom, Kristin, ended up adopting Fritz.
“Knowing that he was found in a ditch breaks my heart,” Kristin told Muttville. “His spirit is so pure, joyful, and kind. I’m trying to give him all the experiences he has likely never had.”
Now, at 12 years old, Fritz looks a world away from the day he was rescued from the canal. He still has plenty of life and joy left, deeply grateful for his second chance at happiness.
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