Girl Adopts Abandoned Dog She Found Tied to a Tree

A dog in Brunswick, Maine, has found his forever home thanks to the kindhearted young woman who rescued him.

When Gia Cartionio-Thayer went hiking with her father on her birthday recently, they happened upon a small black and white dog in need of help, according to WGME.

“I just saw him tied to a tree and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness. He’s probably in trouble,'” she recalled.

Although her dad assumed he belonged to someone living nearby, Gia still felt something was wrong, so they called the police and took the dog, named Champ, around the corner to Midcoast Humane.

“Midcoast Humane. Making life better for animals and people in our community,” the shelter’s mission statement read.

Staff members said because many people had lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, they also might struggle to care for their pets or end up neglecting them.

“I think we were kind of anticipating once COVID hit to see more of that, but we’ve been very fortunate,” explained manager Abby Malone, adding that the organization offered resources such as a pet food pantry to help residents care for their animals.

Gia left Champ at the shelter, but she later returned in hopes of making him part of her family.

“I’ve been looking for a dog for probably a couple years actually, I just love animals so much. So, I was hoping for a dog soon,” she commented.

Gia and the little dog seemed like a “perfect match,” according to Malone.

“And we went through the whole normal adoption process with them like we would with anyone else and we checked all of the boxes and they came in today and the adoption meet and greet went really well with their other dog,” she added.

Thanks to Gia’s compassion, Champ got his happy ending.

“He’s just so fun and energetic and ready to play,” she said of her pet.