When a reporter from Atlanta, Georgia, pulled up to a rest stop in Alabama he wasn’t planning on staying long. However, as he walked over to a vending machine to get a drink, he came upon the odd sight of furry legs sticking out from behind it.
At first, BJ Nemeth thought the dog looked oddly similar to his dog back home. The confusion quickly turned to worry.
“I was like ‘Oh my God, please, please don’t be dead,” Nemeth told The Dodo. “I took a picture on my phone so the flash would light up, and she just leaned up and looked right at me.”
I found a stray dog living behind a Coke Vending Machine at a rest stop in Alabama (I-85 North, just East of Exit 42).
When I saw the hind legs sticking out, for a brief moment I thought it was @BriscoMutt. I had to do a double-take. pic.twitter.com/IuWeBBGFKl
— BJ Nemeth (@BJNemeth) May 23, 2018
While it wasn’t his dog, he knew this dog needed help. She looked sad and utterly exhausted.
Nemeth decided to live-tweet his attempt to win the stray dog’s trust.
“Poor little pup doesn’t seem scared, but he was very cautious,” he tweeted. “didn’t seem comfortable with me getting too close.”
Gaining the Dog’s Trust
While somebody had a left a styrofoam take-out container with water in it, Nemeth bought some Goldfish crackers from the vending machine to try and coax the dog out. While the Goldfish did get the dog out, it was still wary about Nemeth getting too close.
Nemeth told The Dodo that he worried the dog had been intentionally dropped off at this specific location, as not a lot of people seemed to be around. It was also several miles from the next exit.
While the dog ate the Goldfish, Nemeth began calling organizations he thought would be able to offer assistance. However, it was getting late and no one was available.
At one point they both took a break.
It took him a while to eat all the goldfish crackers. At one point he stopped and just sat still. I’m not sure why. We both just stood still for about a minute, then he resumed eating the goldfish crackers. pic.twitter.com/ipJ0aTI2cl
— BJ Nemeth (@BJNemeth) May 23, 2018
“It took him awhile to eat all the goldfish crackers,” he tweeted. “At one point he stopped and just sat still. I’m not sure why. We both just stood still for about a minute, then he resumed eating the goldfish crackers.”
Eventually, the dog, nicknamed “Soda Pup,” fell asleep. It was getting late and while someone did return one of Neneth’s calls, it was unclear when, if at all, the woman would be able to come and pick up the dog.
Okay, so I called 4-5 vet clinics, but they were all closed (obv) and had no info about strays on their recorded messages. So I called the after-hours emergency clinic.
Unfortunately, there’s no animal control that serves this part of Alabama. ????
Pup is full-on tired. pic.twitter.com/biPX7UjMh9
— BJ Nemeth (@BJNemeth) May 23, 2018
Taking the Dog Home
By midnight, nearly three hours after he had first encountered the dog, Neneth made the decision to take the dog home with him. Nemeth got a towel from his car, threw it over the dog, and, fortunately, she allowed him to pick her up. While she was exhausted and nervous, she seemed to know she was safe.
“After about 45 minutes of driving, I start feeling her cold nose touching my elbow,” Nemeth told The Dodo. “And she was just sitting back there behind me, smiling as big as day. It was in that moment I realized, ‘OK, this will all be good. We just have to get her to a good place.'”
Soda-Pup Update:
She woke up when I started driving and got a little frantic for a bit, but she settled down fairly quickly and went back to sleep.
Eventually she woke up and I could tell she had her head near my arm. So I took this flash photo in the dark w/ the selfie cam: pic.twitter.com/bLuhDN0wNE
— BJ Nemeth (@BJNemeth) May 23, 2018
Nemeth drove all the way back to Atlanta without stopping. They finally arrived around 3 a.m. However, he knew he couldn’t take Soda Pup inside as his own dog, Brisco, could be territorial. He ended up sleeping in the car with Soda Pup.
Soda-Pup woke up and was panting, so I tried giving her water again, and she took a couple more sips. Yay!
Then, about 2 mins later, she took a good 5-6 sips. ????
I was so happy she drank more water that I took a selfie with her sniffing my ear. ???????? pic.twitter.com/5HFN9GiQno
— BJ Nemeth (@BJNemeth) May 23, 2018
The next morning he snuck the pup inside. He worked on getting her used to a collar and leash, as well as a crate. He also made an appointment for Soda Pup to visit a vet.
The vet treated Soda-Pup and spayed her. They also checked for a microchip in hopes of finding the dog’s owner, but didn’t find anything.
Finding A Fur-Ever Home
Because Nemeth already had a dog and was on the road a lot for his job, he wasn’t able to adopt the pup himself. Fortunately, he was able to find her a loving home with a friend in Dallas, Texas.
“[The adoptor] was recently widowed within the past two years,” he told The Dodo. “I really like the idea of her going to someone who needs her just as much as she needs them.”
Nemeth and Soda-Pup were back on the road again—this time, from Atlanta to Dallas, where the dog was introduced to her new family.
Nemeth spent a few days in Dallas to make sure the once homeless pup adapted to her new life in Texas, but then it was time for him to return to his own home.
On his way back, he stopped once more at the rest stop in Alabama to check behind the vending machines. Just to be sure.
