EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso puppy who was found on the side of the road in triple-digit heat earlier this summer now has a new home in North Carolina.
A woman’s car broke down on the side of the road during one of the hottest summer days. When she got out of her car she heard puppies crying.
“It was like 103 that day, and so she picked them up and called us and said ‘You know I just found these puppies, would you be willing to take them?’ and I said ‘Absolutely, bring them,'” said Loretta Hyde with the Animal Rescue League of El Paso.
The League posted photos of the puppies on Facebook, and a couple in North Carolina saw them and knew they had to have the little boy, naming him Harris.
That left the Animal Rescue League with the question of “how do we get a puppy from El Paso to Raliegh North Carolina” — 2,000 miles away.
“I made a call to one of my friends who works at Southwest and she goes, ‘No Loretta they can’t fly unchaperoned,'” said Hyde
However, word of Harris’ story got to a Vegas-based Southwest flight attendant named Marcel and she knew just what to do.
“It was Marcel who said ‘I happen to have two days off, I’ll fly to El Paso pick up the boy,’ she’s a flight attendant and she used her flying privileges to get him on Southwest and get him all the way to North Carolina,” Hyde explained.
“I was available to come to El Paso to pick up the puppy and then one of our amazing employees purchased me a ticket from El Paso to Raleigh because the flights filled up and there was a chance that I wasn’t going to get on,” said Marcel Stratten a flight attendant.
Even the Windham hotel in El Paso wanting to help get Harris to his forever home.
“The woman at the hotel, Debbie, loves dogs so she comped my room and made sure I got a room with a little balcony so Harris could go out,” said Stratten.
Harris made plenty of friends along the way, including flight attendants, and even a pilot.
“Everyone needed to see a little kindness and this puppy brought so much love. The two pilots I had, they took him for a walk in the airport and all the passengers on the plane were just wanting to see him,” said Stratten.
Marcel and Harris made three plane changes before finally arriving in North Carolina.
“All for one little El Paso puppy who was left on the side of the road in a box,” said Hyde.
The Animal Rescue League of El Paso says an El Paso family adopted the other puppy who was found in the box. While they are thankful the North Carolina Family adopted Harris, they are hopeful more locals will adopt.