Texas Dog Sitting Beside Deceased Friend in Heartbreaking Photo Prompts Rescue
Brian, a Great Pyrenees, sits beside his friend Marley after her death.
— -- A photo of a Texas dog showing the utmost loyalty to his friend while standing beside her after death has prompted rescuers to come to their aid.
The deceased pup has been given the proper goodbye, rescuers said, while her supportive pal has been reunited with his owner.
"I wasn't surprised that he stayed because in rescues we see it all the time," Julie Fennell of the No Bully Left Behind rescue group in Dallas. "Dogs have feelings and his friend had something tragic happen to her. When people got there, he still stayed. He wouldn't move. He wanted to stay there and guard his friend."
On Nov. 8, a Good Samaritan by the name of Samuel Flores, of Dallas, saw Brian, a male Great Pyrenees, sitting beside Marley, a female shepherd mix, outside the entryway of Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery.
Flores was driving to grab breakfast that morning when he said fate brought him passed both canines alongside the busy Mountain Creek Parkway.
"I actually never take that route," Flores told ABC News. "I looked to my right and said, 'Oh my God, there's this big white dog.' I was kind of heartbroken. There was a bunch of cars passing by and nobody was stopping and I knew I had to do something."
"I busted a U-turn and I put on my hazards and took a picture," he added. "I had to post it on Facebook or get some kind of help."
Flores forwarded the photo of Brian and Marley to Fennell. Flores said he knew of her as one of the animal rescuers in the Dallas community.
After an hour-and-a-half, Flores said independent animal rescuer Jessy Faiferlick showed up at the scene and Fennell arrived shortly after.
"When Jessy first got there, he kind of barked at her to warn her 'Don't come over to my friend's body,'" Fennel said. "We sat down next to him and he gave Jessy his paw."
While Fennell took Brian to Dallas Animal Services, she said Jessy did the same for Marley, who was believed to have been struck by a car.
Dallas Animal Services did not respond to ABC News' request for comment, but said in a statement that Brian the dog disappeared from his home Sunday, when someone accidentally left the garage door open and has since been reunited with his family.
"Dallas Animal Services is grateful for the community’s assistance in reuniting the Great Pyrenees with his family," they wrote. "The dog was found standing guard over the body of his lifelong canine companion, a one-year-old Shepherd mix named Marley, who died after being hit by a car. The photos created a wave of support and encouragement for the dog through social, local and national media, reminding people that dogs have the capability to love too."
Fennell said she is grateful for the selfless act from Samuel Flores, whose quick-thinking got Marley off the road and Brian out of harm's way.
"I think it's awesome," she said. "I don't know how many people drove by them and didn't stop. Being in rescue we have to beg and plead to get fosters and save dogs on the kill list. Meeting someone that cares enough to stop and stay there to make sure Brian didn't run into the street and get run over, that says a lot about him [Flores]."
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