In April 2016, a scared and starving little dog named Petunia arrived at the Delta Animal Shelter in Escanaba, Michigan. Petunia had already been through so much.
This poor pup had two broken legs and broken ribs, and somewhere along the way she’d ingested a large amount of carpet. Her previous owners probably did a poor job of feeding her.
Fortunately, things got a whole lot better for Petunia. She was adopted by a loving family and given a new name, Peanut.
One morning in March 2017, Peanut started acting very strangely. Her mom couldn’t help but notice she was frantically running throughout the house and furiously barking for seemingly no reason.
Peanut ran out to the garage to find her dad. He could also tell she was out-of-sorts and desperately wanted to go outside. So, he let Peanut out and followed behind as she took off running to the field behind their house.
There, in the field, Peanut’s dad found himself standing over a ditch — and looking down at a 3-year-old girl. She was alone, curled up in a ball and naked.
Scroll down to see what happened next…
In March 2017, the Delta Animal Shelter in Michigan posted the following account on their Facebook page:
Dear Shelter,
I must share a heartfelt story about how wonderful our little Peanut has been! She has truly been a blessing to our family and we love having her around.
As you know, her background was so heartbreaking and we are so happy that we were able to take her into our home and give her the love and the family she deserves.
However, I think she still has some “sixth sense” about her past life that she has carried with her.
Today, Peanut was responsible for saving the life of a 3-year-old little girl.
About 11 a.m. this morning, Peanut started going crazy at our house. She was running up and down the stairs, barking, and yelping. She then went and got my husband, who was in the garage working on some projects, and alerted him that she wanted to go outside. He said he could hear her running around upstairs but didn’t understand why.
He let her outside where she went barreling into the field behind our house at full speed.
My husband followed her and to his surprise, he found a naked, shivering, 3-year-old girl curled up in a ball. He scooped her up, wrapped her in his sweatshirt, and brought her inside.
He called 911 and reported the incident.
By the time the ambulance and police arrived, the little girl could only say one thing – “doggie.”
Thanks to Peanut, a little girl’s life was saved today. She has been such a blessing to us, and now to others.
Words cannot express how grateful we are that we have Peanut in our lives and how amazing she is.
She is a part of our family now and thanks to wonderful people like you at the shelter, she is alive.
The couple rushed the little girl to the hospital as the Delta County Sheriff’s Office located her parents who lived nearby.
The department described “unsafe and unsanitary living conditions at the residence.” The girl was placed under the care of Child Protective Services, along with another child found in the home.
Authorities are unsure as to how this little girl ended up alone and naked in a ditch.
The investigation is currently ongoing.
One thing’s for sure: if it weren’t for a rescue dog named Peanut, this brave little girl may not be alive today.
Perhaps Peanut, who experienced severe trauma before getting her second chance, was paying the kindness forward.
Dogs are truly incredible creatures.
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