Earlier this year, a gentleman named Bill Shaver was on his way home back to Missouri after a fishing trip. He made the decision to drive into a rest stop for a few minutes to use the restroom. Since he would only be gone for a couple of minutes, he kept his keys in the ignition and the car running.

However, while Bill was in the restroom, a precious stray dog named River happened to jump up into the car. River spotted the open door, and she leaped into the passenger seat. She laid in the seat and fell asleep.

A few moments later, Bill strolled back to his car. He did a double-take when he noticed there was a dog in his car.

Thankfully, Bill was an animal lover— as he had three rescue pups at home. River obviously needed a meal, but the only thing Bill had was a Rice Krispy treat. He handed it to her and she quickly gobbled it up.

As Bill observed River eating, he fell in love with the adorable dog. He sent his wife Angela a photo of the dog and asked her if he could bring the dog back to their house. Angela immediately said yes.

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

Bill went along on his drive home, and River slept peacefully in the passenger seat. When he made it back to his house, his wife greeted him, and they tried to bring River back inside of the house. However, she wouldn’t move. She felt safe and secure in the truck.

When it became clear that River was not going to leave the car on her own, Bill picked her up and carried her into the backyard. She sniffed her surroundings and soon felt comfortable enough to relax.

Bill and Angela then made introductions to all her new dog siblings one-by-one. They were thrilled to see her getting along with everyone. Once all the original introductions were over, Bill brought River inside and got her all cleaned up. The dog was absolutely swarmed with ticks, and he made an appointment with the vet for the next day to get her checked on.

“After she was dried off and some ticks picked off, she got a good meal. Bill made her a bed on the floor in our room next to the space heater. She slept there all night,” Angela said.

While they were at the vet’s office, Bill and Angela were made aware that poor River had a couple of different health problems, including tapeworms, heartworms, and wounds on her neck from fighting other dogs at one point. The vet was able to give her medicine, though, which quickly improved her condition.

River also has started to get more and more comfortable with her new 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.”

When River jumped into Bill’s car, she could have never figured that it would lead to her obtaining a great set of parents and lots of amazing dog siblings. We’re so happy that River is doing so well in her new life!