Columbo the dog’s life started off hard about four years ago, but he was lucky enough to soon find a forever home and people who love him to call his family.

In fact, it almost didn’t happen.

You see, Columbo had a serious accident when he was just five months old.

He was hit by a car.

The puppy suffered multiple injuries.

It’s unsure if he would have made it if he had stayed alone for long, but, thankfully, a group of cyclists happened to be passing by at that time.

“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,” Jarret Little told CBS News.

The cyclists were shocked to see a puppy in such bad condition, and they tried to figure out a way to take him back into town with them.

But it seemed impossible.

The cyclists found the dog in the woods near Columbus, Georgia, and the town was still miles away.

That’s when one of them, Jarret Little, decided to take the dog on his back and carry him all the way back to town.

It was not an easy task to carry out, but it was definitely worth it.

The duo rode 7 miles downtown

Then, they stopped to get some water.

That’s when the dog encountered his second angel on earth on the same day.

At the same spot where the cyclists and the dog stopped was Andrea Shaw.

The woman was traveling for business and at the time the cyclist and the dog arrived, she was talking with her husband on the phone.

It was love at first sight.

Andrea knew from the very first moment that she could not leave the injured dog behind.

“I’m saving this dog – he’s bleeding and broken and I’m not leaving him,” Shaw told her husband.

Indeed, she didn’t leave him behind.

She quickly arranged to take the dog to a vet.

The vet explained that his injuries were quite serious and that he had to stay there so that the clinic staff could check on him.

Shaw also paid for his surgery, but the money she spent at the time was nothing compared to the joy Columbo brought to her family.

Today, the four-year-old doggo lives in Maine with Andrea and her husband, some canine siblings, and several horses.

After Andrea took him home, he soon gained weight and got over the trauma from his early months of life.

He’s like a new dog.

Now, he’s a joyful dog who enjoys life on the farm and cuddles with his favorite humans.

As Little explained, it was fate that brought Andrea and Columbo together.

“Had I been five mins earlier or five mins later, we wouldn’t have crossed paths with her,” he stated.

What a heartwarming story. So happy that people like Little and Shaw are still out there.

Watch the full story in the video below!

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Source: YouTube – Inside Edition, Facebook, The Animal Rescue Site