Twenty-nine-year-old police officer AnalÃa Cárdenas Ponce didn’t hesitate to feed and transport to a vet a street dog she found just outside her police station. This amazing woman not only saved the dog’s life, she adopted him and with the help of her coworkers made the dog a police dog.
Ponce works as a police officer in Ovalle, Chile. The service woman couldn’t believe the amount of street dogs in Ovalle, and as an animal lover who can’t ignore the four-legged citizens in need, this police officers help any street animals she meets.
“For me it is natural to feed street animals,” Ponce told local news. “My dad used to do it and I follow his example.”
When the dog, now named Peludo (Spanish for Hairy) arrived at the police station he was very malnourished. The dog was hungry, thirsty, tired and very dirty, but aside from the harsh life he had lived, the dog remained friendly and longed for just a bit of human attention.
As Ponce fed the dog, local history and geography teacher Francisco Robles drove by the police station and captured the police woman’s act of kindness with his cell phone. Ponce had no idea anyone had seen what she had done, let alone taken a picture, but once her image was shared on Facebook, she went viral.
After feeding Peludo, the woman took him to a local veterinarian and got him up to date with all his shots. The hero officer adopted the stray and nursed him back to health.
The dog became a regular visitor at the police station and Ponce’s coworkers fell in love with him. They made Peludo the squad’s official mascot, but Peludo had a different career goal. After receiving some training, the dog was promoted to K-9 officer and he now goes out on official police assignments with his fellow two-legged partners.
Ponce, who had no intention of reaching viral status on social media, but she hopes her image inspires others to help animals in need.
