Seeing animals in distress is absolutely heartbreaking. What’s even worse is when it becomes clear that a pet has found itself in a terrible situation because of the actions of its owners.

One of the most disgusting things a pet owner can do is abandon their cat or their dog. Unfortunately, this happens frequently, as some owners don’t want the hassle of approaching shelters to see if they will take their pet in. In many cases, they leave their vulnerable pet in the middle of nowhere to fend for themselves instead.

Sadly, many of these animals end up at the side of busy roads, and many of them don’t survive.

This was exactly what happened to one pup in Mexico. Thankfully, Rodrigo Gonzalez, a young man who spotted the pup while driving down the road, was on hand to save his life – but only just.

Gonzalez’ story was filmed from inside his car. As he drives down the road, his camera picks up a small mound in the gutter. We bet Gonalez was hoping this wasn’t what he thought it might be… but unfortunately, his suspicions were correct. The mound at the side of the road is an injured dog.

He takes his camera from the car and carries it with him as he approaches the dog. The poor thing looks in a pretty bad way. He’s moving, but not much, and he can only lie on his side.

He whines and tries his best to get up, but his back legs just won’t allow it.

Gonzalez strokes the pup, letting him know that he’s a good guy. Then he gently picks him up and places him on his car’s back seat.

The dog is clearly exhausted and in a lot of pain. He lies flat on his side with his eyes closed.

Gonzalez has put his own life at risk by stopping on such a busy road. Passing drivers beep their horns at him. Nobody realizes that he’s currently saving an innocent animal’s life.

The journey to the vets is a difficult one for Gonzalez. He has no idea whether his rescued pup will survive, or what sort of injuries he has sustained. But this story has a happy ending.

Lucky, as the pup was aptly named by Gonzalez, had to spend more than a week in hospital, where he was treated for a spinal injury, and lost one of his eyes. The vets said he would never walk again, but this little man was a fighter!

Gonzalez shared a video of the pup’s recovery, showing him slowly coming out of his crate to sit on the grass next to his new owner. Gonzalez helps him to sit down and gives him a cuddle and a kiss. While Lucky looks a little tired and weary, he is clearly much more content now he has the love of his kind rescuer.

It turns out that Gonzalez is something of a good Samaritan when it comes to dog rescue. He has so far saved 21 dogs from a sad fate after finding them abandoned by their owners.

The world needs more people like Gonzalez – or perhaps people should only take on a family pet when they’re fully prepared for the responsibility that comes with it.

You can check out the video of the incredible rescue below.

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Source: Animal Channel, Facebook, Reshareworthy