Dog lover Ayberk Ayar snapped a photo of the Golden Retriever carrying around the piece of bread and begun asking locals if anyone knew where the dog belonged. Locals informed Ayar that someone dumped the dog, no longer wanting her and for two weeks she had been walking the streets. Thanks to Ayar’s smart decision to take a photo of the dog, her fate dramatically changed.
As The Dodo reports, Tracy Behnke, the intake director of Rescuers Without Borders, a non-profit organization that rescues and relocates dogs from Turkey, saw Ayar’s Instagram photo of the Golden Retriever. She instantly sprang into action. “We knew that she would end up starving or getting hurt really bad. Golden retrievers just can’t fight as well as the other bigger dogs. I was just taken with her, and I thought, ‘We need to do something for her,’ Behnke shared with The Dodo.
The Rescuers Without Borders team asked volunteers to find the dog, but when they arrived at the village, the volunteers were told the man was trying to sell the dog.
Believing the man was trying to sell the dog for breeding purposes, the volunteers didn’t stop searching. Eventually, with the help of the other villagers, the volunteers were thankfully able to locate the dog in a run-down shed. Now named Harper, the volunteers cuddled the pup in their arms and the moment was sweetly captured on video.
Sensing she was safe, Harper relaxed in the rescuer’s car. “They said she was so sweet. She was giving kisses, which is kind of unusual for a Turkish dog. I think she definitely knew she was going to safety again,” Behnke told The Dodo.
Harper initially went into foster care in Turkey and once she got her medical papers, Rescuers Without Borders put Harper on a plane to San Francisco.
Behnke and her husband traveled from Salem, Oregon to meet Harper at the airport and not surprisingly, instantly fell in love. “Everyone who has met her so far is in awe of how sweet a dog can be coming from that situation,” Behnke shared with The Dodo. Harper is now living with a foster family in Washington state and is adjusting to her new life full of love and safety. Harper loves to play outside in the grass, Behnke told The Dodo. Go Harper, go!
Harper will stay in foster care for a few more weeks while she continues to adjust to her new world and while Rescuers Without Borders searches for a permanent home for her. If you or anyone you know is looking for a Golden Retriever to be your friend for life, you can contact Rescuers Without Borders here for more information on how to adopt Harper. We wish you many years of happy memories, Harper!
