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.’

Author image for Laurent Shinar
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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    "We moved to Napa, California where he got to chase birds and rabbits in the vineyards and swim in the Pacific Ocean."
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    Back in May of 2017, my now wife worked for RET at their distribution center on California Ave just south of the SLC Airport. She called
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    me one afternoon and said, "there's a dog on the side of the road that has been here all day chasing cars." Before I could even think I
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    said, "get him!" She opened her passenger side door and the dog jumped right in without hesitation. She came straight home with a dog that reeked like
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    The day we found him
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    a skunk. After an extensive (and ultimately unsuccessful) bath to rid him of the smell, we posted photos all over Facebook to try to find his owners. He
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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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    was so well trained and sweet, we figured someone was certainly looking for him and we would reunite them within a few days.
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    Cheezburger Image 10636958464
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    The next morning, I took him to a vet to get his chips read. Two phone numbers were attached to the chip but both were disconnected. We
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    also found out his name was Franklin. We spent months posting on every lost pet forum we could find but no one stepped up. Over that time we fell
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    more and more in love with Franklin. And eventually we stopped posting and quite frankly, we dreaded the day someone would message us.
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    A year later after graduating from the U, and after many hikes in the foothills of Salt Lake City, my wife, Franklin and I packed up and moved to Napa,
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    California where he got to chase birds and rabbits in the vineyards and swim in the Pacific Ocean. During the pa emic, we
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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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    Cheezburger Image 10636959232
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    moved to Sarasota, Florida where he was able to swim in the Gulf of Mexico and become the official Dock Dog of the marina I worked at.
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    All the while filling our home with constant companionship and joy. The adventures never stopped. Every step of the way, we wondered where this sweet soul came
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    from, who trained him so well and if/why they would abandon him. Yesterday we said goodbye to our sweet boy. He was getting older and
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    had been battling C er for the past year. Our hearts are broken but we are filled with so much gratitude for the love he brought to our home and for
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    being an anchor for us throughout all of life's changes.
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    Cheezburger Image 10636959488
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dogs life salt road found dog mom lost dog foster fail city chasing cars success reddit story saved pawrents love adventure dog story lake dog lovers
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