Yesterday morning, Samira Stevens was closing the lid of her recycling when she heard something rustling around right near her feet. Suddenly, an aura of frightened canine energy surged out from behind the wheelie bin and spoke to her heart.
She bent down and there, beside a plastic bag, was a scruffy little mutt hiding out under the garbage. Despite the dog looking malnourished, dehydrated and matted, the two had an instant connection.
“I watch dog rescue videos every day and I’m really passionate about the idea of stray animals getting a second chance at learning that humans are nice,” says Samira.
Sadly, the dog was too gross for her to personally touch or pick up. But Samira knew she had to do something. Her helping instincts kicked in.
“I felt so bad for it. But I knew that everything would be okay if I could just get the trash dog to look happier and more adorable. Then I understood what I had to do. It came so naturally to me,” she recalls.
She reached into her pocket, found her emergency bow tie, and called the dog out from beneath the dumpster using kissy noises. The abandoned dog knew Stacey was trying to help: it crawled forward and lowered its head, waiting to receive the elasticated bow. Then, for five unbelievable minutes, the dog posed for the most adorable Instagram photo Samira had ever taken. By 10 a.m. the picture had racked up more than 10,000 likes.
“Literally thousands of people were posting and saying ‘Omg! I wish I could adopt this dog! But I can’t – sad face.’”
“It was a real moment,” reflects Stacey. “I think people don’t always realize that sometimes a scared, dying dog just needs a bowtie to be okay.”
