When Shannon Akerman made a quick stop to get gas in Missouri City, Texas, before heading home, she had no idea that her dog rescuing for the day wasn’t over yet. She says her car was already full of three huskies and dog supplies when she got an unexpected lick to the back of her leg.

Shannon is a dog rescuer who had just rescued the three dogs from a drainage pipe along the highway and was heading home to get them taken care of. She says the lick on the back of her leg scared her, but when she looked down, there stood a mama German shepherd that had a pleading look in her eyes.

She says it was as if the dog was begging for Shannon to help her. Shannon went in to pay for her gas and the attendant at the station said someone had pushed the dog out of the car and quickly drove off. Shannon knew she couldn’t just leave the dog there.

Although she didn’t have room in her car, Shannon reached out to fellow dog rescuer Whitney Hartman to come to the shepherd’s aid. Whitney rushed to the gas station, and without any coaxing at all, the dog, now named Mercy, jumped right into her car.

Whitney kept Mercy at her house that night and let her get a good night’s rest before taking her to a shelter that cares specifically for shepherds called Sauver Des Chiens. The shelter says that Mercy is in a foster home and is doing very well.

The foster family reports that Mercy is adorable and loving, but still seems to be looking for her puppies. They are trying to find anyone that can help them reunite Mercy with her pups so the worried mom can be happy again.