They say that there is no such thing as coincidence. Everything that is happening is exactly how the universe conspired it to be.
For a mountain biker named Jarrett Little, this belief rings a lot of truth when he met a stray dog during one of his biking trips.
It was just a regular day for Jarrett Little and his group of cyclist enthusiasts. He along with his fellow bikers were exploring the woods near Columbus, Georgia. In the midst of basking in the glory of the scenic view, Jarrett spotted a creature in dire need of his help.
The creature in bad shape turned out to be a 5-month-old male puppy of Great Dane mix. Awful is an understatement to describe the ragged state of the puppy.
His skin was covered with road rash, his hind leg was broken, his paw was injured, and his ribs were showing. On top of that, the poor puppy appeared to be a victim of a hit-and-run.
“We stopped to regroup and he came out of the woods to greet us. He was really thin, ribs showing and had a lot of road rash and a broken leg,” Jarrett shared with CBS News.
Jarrett and his team felt a tug on their heartstrings. They shared their food and water with the 5-month-old puppy to satisfy even just a bit of its energy. However, the cyclists knew that the puppy needed more than that.
Obviously, the poor puppy had no one to count on but Jarrett and his fellow cyclists. Since the puppy cannot be left alone in the woods, Jarrett didn’t think twice and brought the puppy with him.
And since he did not have a car to transport the poor puppy, he hoisted the puppy onto his back and pedaled his way to the next town, looking for help.
In their quest to look for help, they arrived in Columbus. In this town, he and the injured puppy crossed path with a woman who took a significant interest in him. The woman, Andrea Shaw, was in the midst of her business trip when she bumped into Jarrett and learned about his concern.
“Right when we returned to my local bike shop to get him some more water and food, we instantly ran into Mrs. Andrea who was in town from Maine,” Jarrett recalled their meeting. “She decided to keep him and get him checked out medically.”
As it turned out, Andrea was not only interested in helping the puppy get the medical attention he needed. She also wanted to welcome the injured puppy to her home.
“She paid for him to have his leg repaired with surgery and found an organization that could help get him back to Maine to live on her horse farm,” Jarrett shared that it was also Andrea who chose the name for the puppy they had rescued.
The woman with a soft heart for animals named the puppy ‘Columbo’ or ‘Bo’ for short, in honor of the town where she met the injured pup.
It is notable how the cyclist enthusiast, Jarrett, became an instrument to bring Andrea and Columbo, the injured puppy, together.
If not for him, Columbo wouldn’t be able to find a safe haven to call home. If not for him, Andrea wouldn’t be able to adopt a new puppy to take care of.
“Had I been five mins earlier or five mins later, we wouldn’t have crossed paths with her,” Jarrett said, grateful that he was in the right plate at the right time. “It’s pretty cool how far he’s come.”
“Bo traveled with 25 staples in his hind leg after having four pins to put in to stabilize the fractures and a full cast on a front leg to stabilize a broken toe…. They gave him all his meds and kept him comfy until he was back in my arms,” The excited Andrea, shared about the adventure her new puppy endured on her social media account.
She also thanked the Canine Freedom Transportation company for successfully bringing Bo in her arms safe and sound.
Due to the viral photo of Jarrett carrying Columbo on his back, a lot of people expressed support and interest to their story. Andrea, the new family of Bo decided to create a Facebook page for the puppy to update his fans and supporters with.
Bo’s Facebook page does not only serve as an outlet to post his progress but as well as a mean of inspiring people to adopt animals rather than to buy from pet stores.
Coincidence or not, Jarrett, Columbo, and Andrea’s story only shows how much big of an impact we can make on the life of another being. May their story inspires us to always choose to affect the lives of people we meet in our everyday journey for the better.