Stray dog saves injured cyclist stranded in the mountains

"The dog didn’t leave his side and remained there until the ambulance arrived.” No Images? [Click here]( July 25, 2018 Good morning! Today we have a hero dog, an unlucky koala and a dog who transformed in her new home. 1. Stray Dog Saves Injured Cyclist Stranded In The Mountains Photo Credit: Jandarmeria Caras Severin Up until recently, this sweet stray dog didn't have a friend to call his own, his daily struggle as a homeless pup unseen by the world. But now he's being hailed a hero — and for a very good reason. Last Monday, a man cycling through the mountains of western Romania broke his collarbone after falling off his bike. Unable to continue due to the injury, the man was stranded on the trail as night began setting in, putting him at risk of exposure in the chilly alpine air. Fortunately, however, he found an unlikely friend to keep him safe. Upon arriving to assist the cyclist, first responders from the county of Caras Severin discovered that someone had already beat them to it. “When the cyclist fell and remained laying on the road, a dog came from the woods and laid besides the victim as to warm him with its body," officials said, as translated by Romania-Insider. "When we arrived, the dog didn’t leave his side and remained there until the ambulance arrived.” Photo Credit: Jandarmeria Caras Severin It isn't known if the dog had been living in the mountains from birth, or if he had recently been abandoned there. But his compassion toward a stranger in need nevertheless speaks volumes about his heart. Or, as officials described it: "Man's best friend gives a lesson on 'humanity.'" The injured cyclist was eventually transported to safety, but he wasn't the only one saved from a harrowing ordeal. First responders gave shelter to the heroic pup, known now as Savior Dog, and spread the word of his good deed online. And within a matter of days, a family stepped in to adopt him and shower him with a lifetime of love. After all, a hero deserves nothing less. 2. Koala Deeply Regrets Trying To Squeeze Through Fence Photo Credit: Fauna Rescue SA A wild koala found himself in a bit of a sticky situation last Tuesday when looking for a refreshing drink of water didn’t quite go as planned. Volunteers at Fauna Rescue SA, a wildlife rescue organization in southern Australia, received a call at 8:30 a.m. concerning an errant adult koala who had become stuck in a metal fence surrounding a nearby power station. Apparently, the little animal had been attempting to crawl under the fence, but when he sat up, he got his head caught between the bars. And, from the expression on his face, he was not happy about it. It was most likely by necessity, not choice, that the koala came down from his tree perch in the first place. “Koalas are not curious animals and stay away from humans unless they are sick and/or in trouble,” Sally Selwood, a member of the koala team at Fauna Rescue, told The Dodo. “During the summer months when the leaves are dehydrated, they will come down looking for water.” Photo Credit: Fauna Rescue SA A koala’s strict low-calorie diet requires that they remain sedentary and sleep approximately 20 hours a day. So while this 20-pound koala didn’t have the energy to escape the situation, his rescuers knew just what to do. “He was freed and checked for injury and was fine,” Selwood said. “He was released along the creek line in a safe place further up the road.” When rescuers found a yellow tag identifying the koala as number 678, they realized this wasn’t the first time their paths had crossed. The unlucky koala first got into trouble in 2016, when he was found unresponsive at the base of a tree. Later that year, he was clipped by a car, and spent a few weeks healing before being released yet again. But this type of accident-prone behavior isn’t so unique, says Selwood. “As a hotline for koala rescue, we receive around 2,300 calls per year, with most being in the summer months,” Selwood explained. “Koalas are under threat from habitat loss, traffic, dogs and disease, along with koala management decisions from local and national governments, and we try to save as many as we can.” 3. Overweight Shelter Dog Drops 10 Pounds — And Gains The Perfect Family Photo Credit: Paula Fox Miss Butterworth was surrendered to the Asheville Humane Society after her owner sadly passed away. When the corgi-Chihuahua mix arrived at the shelter, the staff members couldn’t believe their eyes — as the little dog was severely overweight. After examining Miss B, it was determined that she was morbidly obese at 20 pounds, which was twice as much as she should have weighed. Twenty pounds is a lot of weight for such a small dog to carry around, and everyone at the shelter knew that if Miss B was to have any chance at living a long, healthy life, she needed to lose around 10 pounds as soon as possible. Miss B was taken in by an experienced foster couple, Sharon and Barry. They began taking Miss B out for walks, being careful to ease her into it, as too much exercise right away would be a strain on her chubby body. They even took her swimming at a local lake, doing everything they could to help her shed the pounds. During her weight loss journey, Miss B became something of a local celebrity. Her foster parents took her to several events around Asheville, and she soon began appearing on local TV and radio stations. Everyone fell in love with the chubby little dog, and loved following along with her weight loss challenge. Between her new exercise regime and a very, very healthy diet, slowly but surely, Miss B began to lose the weight … Photo Credit: Asheville Humane Society … until, months later, she practically looked like a different dog. With her new skinny body and healthy lifestyle, it seemed that Miss B was finally ready to go off and find her forever home. Once she was down to 12 pounds, the shelter opened up the application process, and narrowed the selection pool down to four families. They were in the process of selecting a family when Miss B went in for a routine checkup — and came out with some grim news. While Miss B was being checked over, a small cancerous mass was found on her right front leg. The shelter quickly notified the four families to let them know that the process would be halted until they figured out how serious the cancer was and what kind of treatment Miss B would need. Miss B had surgery to remove the tumor, and once it was removed, she was miraculously declared completely healthy. The cancer hadn’t spread to any other part of her body, and removing the tumor was all it took to ensure that she was healthy again. Everyone was elated to hear that Miss B was OK — especially Paula and Daryl Fox, who found out shortly after the surgery that they had been chosen to be Miss B’s new family. “We were on cloud nine after receiving the news of being chosen,” Paula Fox told The Dodo. “Asheville Humane Society also helped the other three final families chosen for her adoption find a fur baby for their family at no charge to them.” Photo Credit: Paula Fox The couple had lost one of their dogs a few years back, and had finally been ready to welcome another dog into their family when Miss B became available for adoption. They’d been following the very special dog’s weight loss journey, and something about her made them sure that she was meant to be a member of their family, and they were right. Now, Miss B is loving life with her new parents and her new dog brother, Winston Thomas. She’s down to 11 pounds, and is maintaining her new healthy weight by following her parents around wherever they go and playing with her dog brother. Her parents are confident that she can keep the weight off, and are overjoyed to see what a happy, active little dog she’s flourished into. “She loves to just be with her family,” Fox said. “She is so gentle with her brother Winston Thomas, who is 16. She really looks out for him!” Dogs Doing The 'What The Fluff Challenge' [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( The Dodo 100 Crosby St., 201 New York, NY 10012 [Forward]( [Unsubscribe](