Dallas dog loyally stands by stray friend killed by car

A photo of one dog standing guard over another which was hit by a car on a roadside in south-west Dallas has warmed hearts across the US.

The dog, a Great Pyrenees, stood by his friend near the Dallas-Fort Worth national cemetery until volunteers rushed to rescue him, after a photo of the two surfaced on Facebook. Posted by Samuel Flores, the photo showed the dog standing over his friend, who was hit by a car and killed.

“He was just kind of sitting guard, like a statue, just sitting there watching over his friend’s body,” animal advocate Julie Fennell told a local NBC affiliate.

“It really looks like she was hit in the road, you can see the blood in the road, and it looks like he [dragged] her up on to the grass out of the road.”

Volunteers could not determine the dog’s history, or why he was dedicated to protecting the other dog, but said he was very calm and loving when rescued.

“He made a friend,” Fennell said. “Whether it was his companion in his yard at home or whether they met up as strays, but something made him stay by her side.”

The Great Pyrenees was taken to Dallas animal services. If no owners come forward, he will be released to SPIN Rescue, a group focused on the rescue of Great Pyrenees dogs.