A photographer found and rescued a skinny puppy from a remote island while on a work trip.
One December day, when photographer Wesley White from southwest Montana was out kayaking off the coast of Belize, he stumbled upon the sweetest four-legged creature. As he reached a nearby remote island, he found a starving puppy walking around a fishing shack.
Surprisingly, the dog was quite friendly with the man, as if he was grateful to see another living soul around.
Sharing his touching story with The Dodo, White said:
“I was just sitting, looking over the water, and I started to eat, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his tail wagging… I looked over, and then immediately I realized how severely emaciated he was. I mean, my heart like exploded in my chest.”
The photographer felt in his heart he had to rescue the puppy.
He took the poor dog, hopped in the kayak, and went to seek help. Thankfully, everyone was open to giving White a hand in his heartfelt rescue mission.
However, as the photographer was on a work trip, he had to leave Belize in less than two days. Although he did manage to take the dog to the vet, he couldn’t stay for his recovery process. But the local veterinarian, Dr. Mia, assured him that her team would take great care of his four-legged friend.
White faced another challenge on the way. The vet was able to look after the dog only until the weekend. Luckily, the photographer was able to act quickly and contacted a foster caregiver named Melanie from the Humane Society of Belize. She took care of the puppy, now named Winston, for about two months, sharing updates on his state and heartwarming pictures of his remarkable improvement.
It was finally time for White to welcome the dog he saved to his own home.
As the photographer traveled from Montana to the Dallas airport to reunite with the puppy, he was wondering whether Winston would remember him. To his surprise, it took only a sniff for the pupper to recognize his rescuer.
White shares:
“He found me, I found him… This was kind of like a destiny sort of situation.”
Here is Wesley and Winston’s emotional journey captured in a video: