Last month, Bill Shaver was driving home to Missouri from a fishing trip when he stopped at a rest stop to use the facilities. Thinking that he would just be gone for a second, Bill left the car running with the door open.

He had no idea that this simple decision would change his life forever!

When Bill got back from the bathroom, he was stunned to find a malnourished stray dog named River sitting in his front seat. As Bill was in the bathroom, River had wandered up to the car and jumped in, immediately curling up to take a nap.

River picked the right vehicle to jump into, because Bill is a dog lover who has three rescue dogs at home. Seeing how hungry River was, Bill gave her a rice crispy treat, falling in love with her as she ate. He just knew that he had to take her home with him!

Bill sent his wife Angela Shaver a photo of River, asking if he could bring the dog home, and she immediately said yes.

“I asked him what our new dog’s name was,” Angela said. “We decided to call her River because of where she found him.”

When Bill and River finally reached his house, the dog refused to get out of the car because she felt safe there. Finally, Bill carried her into the backyard, and she quickly grew comfortable there as she sniffed around.

Bill and Angela introduced River to her new dog siblings, and she bonded with them right away. The next day, they brought her to the vet, where they learned that she had a variety of health problems including tapeworms, heartworms, and wounds on her neck from fighting. She has since been given medicine for these ailments and is doing much better.

These days, River is loving life with her owners and dog siblings.

“She runs in the yard and chases nothing with Winston, sits for cookies with Ginger and hogs the bed with Butters,” Angela said. “The cat was very unpleased for the first few days, but is finally coming around.”

We’re so glad to see that River has found the loving forever home that she deserves!