Dogs abandoned separately along Utah roadside are now best of friends. See them play
Two dogs were abandoned in a Utah county of ghost towns within weeks of each other — and are now becoming the best of friends in their new lives.
Sweet photos posted to Price City Police Department’s Facebook page May 17 show the dogs playing together after they were rescued from the roadside in Carbon County, officials said.
The first “very special 8-week-old puppy” was found Feb. 10 along a busy highway that runs through the county, officials said. Whoever found the pup turned him over to the Price City police, and Chief Sicilia fostered him at the department.
No one came forward to claim him after a few weeks, and the department decided he would make a great K-9 service dog because of his “sweet temperament,” officials said. The agency named him PeeDee.
A few weeks after PeeDee’s rescue, another dog was found abandoned along a roadway in one of the county’s ghost towns.
A local resident spotted the dog in a ditch on March 29, just a few days before Easter Sunday, McClatchy News previously reported.
When they got close, they realized the dog had wounds on his head and was in “terrible” shape, McClatchy News reported.
That dog had been shot twice in the head, McClatchy News reported. A local veterinarian confirmed the injuries and performed emergency surgery “with questionable expectations the dog would survive,” officials said in the May post.
The person who found the dog started calling him BluJay, McClatchy News reported. While BluJay was in surgery, a local Price couple “stepped up and chose to adopt the critically injured dog,” officials said. BluJay received care in an emergency veterinary hospital in Salt Lake City and then went to recover at his new home in Price.
Price is about a 120-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, PeeDee began taking obedience training sessions once a week, officials said. His trainers will eventually help the agency train him as a facility psychiatric service animal, and if all goes according to plan, PeeDee will get his certification by the end of the year.
In the meantime, Chief Sicilia has been checking in on BluJay’s progress, officials said.
“We were hopeful PeeDee could at some point meet the now completely blind BluJay to provide his first one-on-one emotional support for a K-9 brother,” officials said.
The dogs’ owners arranged a playdate for the pups at Pioneer Park in the city, where police officials learned BluJay is only 1.5 years old.
“Even though BluJay has just completed his puppy stage, it was obvious his playful and loving nature was still with him,” officials said. “After nearly two hours of play time, it became apparent that both dog’s stories of abandonment were overthrown by BluJay’s will to survive and the future service they will both provide to their respective families and local citizens.”
Photos show the dogs running around the park, sharing an alligator-shaped chew toy and licking each other’s faces.
“Because of this initial bond between both family handlers and (dogs) alike, we are confident a long-term kinship will be accomplished as both dogs meet one another during future play dates as well as community events,” officials said.
People shared their joy of the heartwarming tale in the comments.
“I’m so glad they both overcame what bad humans did to good dogs,” someone said.
Many others agreed.
“These sweet boys deserve all the love after all they’ve been through,” someone else said.
Several people said they hope to see justice for BluJay. The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office is offering a reward for information leading to prosecution of the person or people responsible for shooting and abandoning him, officials said.
This story was originally published May 20, 2024 at 1:03 PM.
