A dog found huddled in bus shelter and shivering from the cold is alive and well thanks to transit workers who acted quickly to rescue him.
The lost dog was spotted by a bus passenger at a bus stop in Regina, Saskatchewan, which has been getting record cold weather this past week.
Darren Szabo, a transportation service officer in the Canadian city, rushed to the bus stop to try and keep the dog warm until the Regina Humane Society (RHS) could arrive.
He told Global News that he was worried the dog would suffer frostbite. โIt was hard. I knew with the extreme temperatures that a matter of minutes could make a difference between him losing the tips of his ears or his paws.โ
The dog was fearful and growled at Szabo when he first approached, but he relented when Szabo covered him with his fleece jacket and recognized he was there to help.
โHe was just as scared as he was cold,โ Szabo said. โIf I got cold, I could always grab another jacket. This poor dog didnโt have that chance.โ
โIt was not common for the dog to be missing, so they noticed he was missing fairly quickly and phoned us,โ Lindsay West, director of operations for the RHS, said of the dogโs owners.
Thankfully, the dog has made a full recovery and suffered no ill-effects from the cold.
Regina has a Safe Bus Program for people if they find themselves stuck in extreme cold. If they wave down a bus, the bus will stop to lend assistance.
โItโs important we reach out and help each other; whether itโs a small animal in need or a person in need.โ said Szabo. Regina Transit shared a photo of the dog and also reinforced the message. โWe indicated โeveryoneโ should be safe from the harsh elements of this cold snap, which includes our furry friends as wellโฆEveryone stay safe and warm out there.โ
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