‘There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a creature give up, but nothing more inspiring than watching them fight to live.’: Arizona commuter finds and rescues an abandoned desert dog moments before he was swept away by floods

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Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Nov 18, 2025 1:00 PM EST

They say that everything happens for a reason, and we like to add to that, that not only do things happen for a reason they also happen when they are meant to happen and not a moment sooner. And this dog rescue story certainly proves this point. For while this rescuer did not initially save the abandoned doggo he came upon, he did ensure that it was being well taken care off until a rescue attempt could be made.

And when the time came for the rescue to go down, it happened mere hours before floods engulfed the area that they were in. leaving the only logical conclusion to be that the doggo involved was saved at the purrfect time, not too early and not too late. So if you are finding yourself waiting for the pawfect moment, do not be hasty, when it comes you will know, and it will have been worth the wait.

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    About a month and a half ago I noticed this guy out in the middle of the desert on the Gila River Indian Reservation on my way to work one morning. I continued to give him food and water for a few weeks until
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    a local rescue and trapping organization finally agreed to help catch him. HARTT in Phoenix, AZ helped quickly jump into action and rescue this sweet boy. He was fostered for a few days before he went to a rescue.
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    7/7
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    Unfortunately, he was not doing very well at the rescue; de _d, not eating, etc. One of their amazing employees decided to foster him immediately after seeing how distressed he was.
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    All reports say that he is just a sweet, mellow, old man. He was 10 miles away from any kind of houses when I found him, so the theory is that he was dumped. However he certainly had to be someone's pet at some point as
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  • Jheez, these really are the saddest of stories. For not only do you have a pup who is in need of a home and love and attention. But you also have a person who is so ashamed of what they have done to this pupper that they go to the lengths of trying their best to hide their shame in the middle of nowhere. Ultimately only making things worse for the poor doggo. So of course he would be having emotional issues after such tragedy.

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    he is well-trained, an avid cuddler, and loves other dogs. He does not like cats! Unfortunately, his incredible foster has two cats herself, and a baby on the way so she is unable to keep him long term.
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    ADOPT WE
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    But due to how d₁. d he was at the shelter she is trying to keep him as long as possible. I myself so badly want to take him in or even foster him, but I live with my elderly father who is
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    completely against the idea. So, I am doing anything and everything I can to push his story out there. I live in Maricopa, AZ and the area he was found in is pretty desolate and we
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    1/7
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    have no idea how long he was out there for. He is believed to be about 8-10 years old, with his teeth showing lots of damage and age and some arthritis in his back legs. However, I've
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    been told he is super spry, still loves to run and play, and really just must belong to someone somewhere. Directly after he was trapped and rescued, our area was hit with massive storms and flooding and now
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    the area that I first found him at is currently under water. If HARTT hadn't worked as swiftly as they did, I don't know that he would have survived all of the massive floods. I will not give up until someone
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  • Wow, this truly is one of those stories that show how lucky you have to be for a rescue to work out. Like, you never truly know how things could go if a sweet doggo is left out on their own and in a matter of a few days, hours or minutes end up in a seriously scary situation. 

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    can give this boy a home. I wish it could be me. I was referring to him as "desert dog" for the longest time so simply decided to call him Dez for short. The rescue he is currently adoptable through
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    has named him Riggs, as this was the name of the road he was found by. His rescue is Alone No More located in Phoenix, AZ.
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    6/7
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    Since my last post about Riggs/Dez (dog on the right in the first pic) got so much attention, I wanted to give you guys an update! My good friend adopted him this morning and he is very happy
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    with his new best friend (pictured on the left in first pic). I am so happy I actually know the person who took him in, as I know he will be well loved and taken care of.
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live dogs desert abandoned give up moments find reddit story fight floods inspiring creature dog story seeing heartbreaking before Dog Rescue arizona
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