Lost Salt Lake City dog found chasing cars in road saved by passing dog lover, who failed to find his pawrents, but succeeded in giving the dog a life love of and adventure, dog mom says: ‘He became the official Dock Dog of the marina I worked at.’

Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor

Jun 9, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

Abandoned doggos and the people who end up saving them are usually more than content with living a calm life together full of walkies, treats and occasional trips. But the doggo who was found roaming the streets of Salt Lake City in this story got far more than a quiet life of comfort.

It is not the usual kind of story one finds on Reddit's r/SaltLakeCity subreddit, but it is one that in a certain sense captures the culture of the adventure drenched city. Because what this doggo did not realize when it so willingly hopped into this hooman's car in the middle of pulsating traffic is that they are the adventuring type. Meaning that this pupper will not spend the rest of his life resting on the couch. That this pupper would become one of the grandest adventures in recent canine-kind living life to the absolute maximum with his fur family in tow.

And while Franklin's origins, and the actual reason as to why he ended up on that street on that fateful day might not be known, we can all rest a little easier tonight knowing that one more innocent doggo has been spared a life on the street and gotten the most pawfect pupgrade to his life.

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Well, this certainly does present as a lost dog situation initially there is no denying that. A dog running around a road is usually a sign that they have gotten desperate in their search for home and without arms or the hooman language at their disposal they run around roads in the hopes of getting someone’s attention. Then add to that the skunking and you have got a dog who likely does not know what it means to be outdoors, nor what a skunk is and does. What would ordinarily be a classic case of dog dad left the gate open. But this story has more twists and turns than such simple storylines.
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It seems to be that the fabled day that this doggo’s past pawrents would get in touch has never come and now with a cross-country move, it is safe to say that Franklin is in good hands and is there to stay with his adopted family. It must have been such a pawsitive experience for Franklin, to go from roaming the streets in desperation to living a life that most dogs could hardly dream off. It is all that you can hope to have happen to a doggo who has had it ruff in life, and thankfully, this is Franklin’s story.
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