Trucker couple find cactus covered Pit Bull abandoned at rest stop and immediately adopt her after being rejected by local shelters, new dog mom says: ‘She was alone and looked injured and neglected so I called out to her’

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Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Apr 25, 2026 9:00 AM EDT

It is not everyday that a neglected, cactus covered dog walks up to you at a rest stop. But  when it does happen you had better make that day their adoptaversary as the couple of truckers in this story did.  

While this trucking couple tried to find their injured doggo some support through the local shelter system, they were sadly exposed to the harsh realities of animal care in our modern day, or lack of it. Leaving them to take on the care and rehabilitation of this pawdorable pit bull all on their own. A challenge that they were more than willing to rise to and took on with the love and care that an abandoned doggo deserves. Something which this sweet dog has likely never experienced before.

One by one they worked together to remove the cactus spines that got lodged in their canine's body as she calmly sat there, trusting that they had her best interests at heart. And soon enough this once prickly pupper was smooth as can be and cactus free, not to mention surrounded by toys, treats and copious amounts of love from the new pawrents she gained in the process.
 

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  • 01
    "She wags her tail when she sees us after not seeing us for a bit"
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    Here's what happened though: My partner needed to stop to pee at a rest area, while he did that I took the trash out and noticed a dog walking
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    from the highway into the rest area up on the hills behind the picnic tables. She was alone and looked injured and neglected so I called out to
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    here, she wagged her tail and went submissive. I opened the door to the truck and told my partner there was a dog, he immediately looked for food
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  • 05
    to give and handed it over. We fed her, gave her water. No one came to claim her, and we noticed she had cactus needles in her limbs!
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  • Wow, to think what this poor pupper must have gone through, how many miles she walked alone, how many major roads she had to cross with no understanding of how to do so safely. All so that she could reach this rest stop and meet these hoomans who would be the first to actually help her. What a sense of relief it must have been for her to be seen, to be shown any kind of love after who knows how long she was out there all alone. She is so brave for having held on for so long.

  • 06
    She left us for another person who was walking their dog, we approached the woman and asked if it was ours. We explained it's not, and she suggested
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    calling the animal services nearby because she can't take it since she has already dog who's not very friendly. She gave us a leash, and dog food which helped
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    lure her to the truck. My partner lifted her into the truck, and we drove off meanwhile my partner calling their animal services.
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  • 09
    The animal services said they don't take dogs outside of town, and the next town over would out her down in three days which is uncool.
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    Cheezburger Image 10616050176
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    We've taken all the needles we can see out, she has dog essentials, she's had walkies where we've stopped and we've called Petsmart in the
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  • Honestly, at this point we do not understand what the shelters are good for if all they seem to do is turn people away or tell them that the dog they want to surrender will cross the rainbow bridge within a few days. But thankfully, these doggo rescuers are caring and kind enough to immediately reject these awful offers and instead take the time and patience to pull each one of those cactus needles out of the poor pupper’s face. That must have been painstaking work. Not to mention how much trust it must have taken on the neglected doggo’s end to allow them to do that.

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    town we're delivering at. At this moment We're making our way to the town we deliver in, to Petsmart where we will park for the
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    night and take her to see the vet if there's any openings. She needs an exam and maybe she might have a microchip. Our thoughts
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    Cheezburger Image 10616049408
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    We think she was a breeder dog that was purposely left. She's young but those dan milk-bag of hers say
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    they've been overused. She's a pit bull, so we can only assume that could be the case. We think maybe she's been there for some days, but whoever her
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    owner was - they didnt a' e her because she didn't flinch at big movements we did when she was in the truck with us but I don't know yet. She
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    has no fleas, no tics, just had the cactus needles. How she's doing She's fine, she's laying down on
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    Cheezburger Image 10616049920
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    a carpet laid out between the two chairs. She's eaten and still has good, she's had treats, she drinks often which is awesome, and she wags her tail when she
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    sees us after not seeing us for a bit (like if I were to head out to grab something from the bottom storage and come back inside she's wagging her
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    tail), and she seems to like walks but she's always stopping and going.
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adopt shelter dog mom abandoned reddit story covered rejected cactus pit bull trucker dog story couple
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