Part of what makes a road trip so fun is that they provide endless opportunities for unexpected adventures.
Still, when Kristina Munford, her two siblings, and their dad spontaneously decided to go on a week-long cross-country trip from Oklahoma to California, they never expected to save a life. But that’s exactly what happened when they pulled over to take some photos in a desert.
“We could hear skewering and skimping,” Kristina said. “We were in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing for ever, but we kept seeing these beautiful formations and we were like ‘We will stop on the next one.’”
Following the sound, they discovered that a malnourished puppy was hiding in the bushes, 26 miles away from the nearest town. Although he was frightened, they managed to earn his trust enough for him to join them in their vehicle.
“His face had a gash… kind of in the middle, he wasn’t really moving his back legs, we thought he was injured, but it turns out he was just exhausted,” she said. “I look at my dad and I go, ‘We can’t leave him out here, we [have to] take him with us.’”
Together, the five of them visited the Grand Canyon, earning the abandoned pup the name Canyon.
As much as they loved having a doggo companion on their trip, they couldn’t keep him for long. So they dropped him off at Kristina’s cousin, Ro Blackwood’s, house instead.
“I wanted to keep him, but we had just started our trip and hotels wouldn’t allow us to have him there, so he’s going to stay with our family,” Kristina said. “They are going to foster him until they either fall in love with him and keep him themselves or find him a good home.”
When Canyon first arrived at Ro’s home, he was pretty nervous. But over the course of a week, life-changing progress was made.
“It’s been a full week of fun, training, exploring, socializing and EATING!” Ro wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to giving updates on Canyon, who is also going by AZ now. “This little guy arrived hungry and still devours his food — but surprisingly has no resource guarding reaction. With all the good food and exercise, He seems to be growing everyday!”
Since fostering this sweet pup, Ro discovered that Canyon doesn’t have a microchip. They still haven’t decided for sure if they’re going to keep him, but it seems that their other two pups definitely wouldn’t mind!
No matter if Canyon stays with Ro or finds a different loving home, thanks to Kristina and her family making a stop at the right place at the right time, this precious pup’s future is looking bright.
“He’s safe! That’s the best part,” Kristina said. “We love animals in our family, they’re innocent, and us humans should be appreciative of the loyalty these animals give us.”