Loyal Stray Dog Guards Injured Pregnant German Shepherd on Busy Highway, Won’t Leave Her Side

(Illustration - Shutterstock)

On a busy highway in Muscoy, California, a German shepherd was hit by a vehicle and left for dead by the side of the road in early 2017. Thankfully, she wasn’t alone; a friendly stray dog showed up and was able to comfort her with his presence. Lucky for both of them, human help eventually arrived.

Yet, the rescue was urgent, as in addition to being injured, the German shepherd was also heavily pregnant with puppies!

At last, a driver stopped and called for help. “We received a message she was lying on the side of the road,” said Faith Easdale, a rescue worker for Dream Fetchers: Project Rescue, speaking to The Dodo.

Easdale rushed to help the injured dog, later named Marley, and assisted her into the back of their vehicle. Marley’s loyal sidekick came with them.

Alarmingly, other motorists honked at the rescuer to get out of the way instead of offering a hand. “They didn’t care about what is a daily occurrence in that city,” she later recounted in a Facebook post.

“Marley was in terrible distress and pain, and breathing heavily,” Easdale recounted of the delicate rescue operation undertaken. “We weren’t even sure if she was going to make it. She was very heavy and hard to move, but we did it.”

Soon, Marley and her companion, who was later named Murphy, were safely transported to a nearby veterinary clinic. Murphy protectively laid his head gently on Marley’s abdomen for the duration of the trip.

As per The Dodo, Marley’s X-rays revealed the extent of her injuries after the hit and run. The pregnant dog had sustained numerous broken bones. Yet amazingly, Marley’s puppies were unharmed—a grand total of 11 babies in all!

Shortly after her roadside ordeal, Marley gave birth to all 11 healthy puppies and nursed them despite having two of her limbs in rigid plaster casts.

As per I Heart Dogs, Marley’s complicated recovery, and the birth of her pups, was supervised by medical staff at Santa Margarita’s I.C.A.R.E Dog Rescue.

Meanwhile, loyal Murphy, having accompanied Marley through the first few days of her recovery, gradually surrendered his duties as protector. “He was able to be with [Marley] in the hospital,” Easdale explained, “but she was so critical that he wanted to go run and play.”

According to Cesar’s Way, dogs are pack animals. “Dogs aren’t loners,” dog behaviorist Cesar Millan writes. “They want to be part of a pack, contribute to their pack, and protect their fellow pack members.”

Discovering that while Murphy’s loyalty to his injured friend was strong he was at heart an independent dog, Easdale and the Dream Catchers rescue team set to work finding Murphy an adoptive family. Before long, he was happily homed—a good deed repaid.

Marley’s recovery story was complicated given the nature of her injuries. Yet, after two long years and consistent support from vets, rescue staff, and a loving foster mom, Marley healed.

In January 2020, Easdale took to Facebook to celebrate Marley’s extraordinary journey. “Marley was critical,” the rescue worker recalled. “And in the next years it took a team of people rallying for her.”

Marley mattered, Easdale asserted in her post. She and her babies weren’t “trash to be discarded,” to which an emphatic chorus of commenters responded approvingly.

As for the puppies, they grew up to be strong, healthy dogs, much thanks to the loyalty of a stray named Murphy who took pity on a stranger in need on the side of the road.