On her drive to work, Shena enjoys looking at the sprawling blueberry fields that line the highway. She often spots trash bags closer to the road and, occasionally, sees coyotes patrolling the area.

But one day, Shena, who asked that her last name not be used, noticed what she later described as a particularly suspicious-looking “black bag of garbage.”

She almost kept driving, but her gut told her she had to go back. Walking along the busy road, she spotted a large black dog who was all alone, nestled among the blueberry bushes.

“I was shocked,” Shena told The Dodo. “Her eyes opened, and a wave of pure relief washed over me.”

Shena approached very slowly, trying not to startle the skittish dog. She called out to the pup, but it was hard to hear anything over the din of highway traffic. Shena noticed the dog was injured — one of her legs appeared to be dangling at a strange angle. She knew she needed to find help as soon as possible, but the nervous dog, untrusting of people, started to run away.

“At one point I lost sight of her and I became very concerned and started panicking,” Shena said. “I was worried I lost her and she would be left to suffer alone and scared. I started jogging along the side of the blueberry field, looking down each row.”

After what seemed like forever, Shena spotted her again. She grabbed a fanny pack from her car and fashioned the strap into a leash. Cautiously, she approached the dog and was able to coax her into it.

“My heart exploded with joy,” Shena said. “I was so over-the-moon excited that I was going to be able to help her.”

Shena drove the pup to RAPS Animal Hospital, where veterinarians got to work healing the broken leg. Pretty soon, it became clear that Shena could never part with her new friend, and she named the dog Blueberry in honor of where they met.