Boy Wins Stray Dog’s Trust…and Saves Her Life

Animal control and rescue workers in Freeport, Illinois tried in vain for weeks to rescue a stray dog and bring her inside, out of the cold. Things were looking bleak for the dog…until a 9-year-old boy stepped in.

According to the Journal-Standard, D.J. Levin was sledding at a local park with his dad, Derek, and a friend, when he noticed the dog. D.J. tried to pet the dog, but she shied away. D.J. returned to sledding but couldn’t get the dog off his mind. He returned the next day and was happy to see the dog there again. The dog was apparently happy to see D.J. too, because she began following the boy up and down the hill as he sledded. She eventually began playing with D.J., even licking his face!

Through other people at the park, the family learned that the dog, who D.J. named “Kelly,” had been living outside at the park, eluding animal control and seemingly afraid of humans.

Yet, when D.J. and his father got into their car to leave at the end of the day, Kelly hopped in after them!

Derek called local shelter, Friends Forever Humane Society, to let them know they had Kelly, safe and sound. The incredulous shelter manager, Carol Falconer, said they’d been trying to catch Kelly for two weeks. “We had people calling us all the time about this dog, but we just could not get her,” Falconer told the Journal-Standard. “The fact that D.J. and this dog bonded just shows the power of trust – Kelly, as she is known now, trusted that little boy – he saved her.”

Kelly is doing great at the shelter and awaiting her forever home. “I am so glad she is now safe and warm,” D.J. told the Journal-Standard. “I can’t wait to visit her someday.”