A bystander captured candid footage of an adorable rescue of a stray puppy that took place one rainy day in Blumenau, in Santa Catarina, Brazil. The clip went viral, and has been circulating online.
In mid-April, 12-year-old Cibely was halfway home from school, walking in the rain with her umbrella, when she spotted a shivering puppy laying in a puddle and decided to help the suffering canine find shelter, some place warm and dry — her home.
What Cibely did next was, unbeknownst to her, video-recorded by Mayane Rodrigues, who saw the scene from the window of her apartment building nearby.
Cibely is seen putting down her umbrella and removing her jacket to pick up the pooch, and then carrying her home.
“When she arrived with the puppy at home, wet from the rain with blood on her shirt, I was scared,” Cibely’s mom, Rejane Stiegelmair, 38, told The Epoch Times. “I thought she would have been hurt.”
The 12-year-old said she was compelled to intervene, because she “saw the dog with a sad look asking for help, she was injured and she was shivering from the cold and couldn’t get up.”
Despite apprehension about being bitten, and the dog’s heaviness, Cibely managed to carry her inside.
The family then brought her to the vet, had her examined, and found that nothing was broken, the mom said.
“I posted on dog social media forums, on the pages for lost animals,” she shared. Meanwhile, Rodrigues had managed to get in touch with the Stiegelmairs through social media and explained that she’d shared the video of Cibely and her puppy rescue online.
The family was soon flooded with messages from people who were touched by Cibely’s actions; the Stiegelmairs received pet clothes, dog beds, and help with vet fees.
The family spent three days searching for the dog’s owner, but to no avail. They were unable to locate them.
So, they decided to put the dog up for adoption, but soon found that they couldn’t go through with it.
“We discovered that she was already ours since the rescue,” the mom said. “Because every time we talked about her going to another home, our hearts squeezed, we even cried.”
Given the family’s soft spot for needy dogs, it’s no surprise they, as of now, have three adopted dogs. They named their new furry family member Pretinha.
“They became great friends, they play a lot all day,” said Cibely of the canine trio. “I’m very happy with what I did.”
As an only child, she appreciates the company, her mom said.
The philosophy behind Pretinha’s happy ending writ large, according to Cibely, is to “just love and have compassion for each other.”
Rejane hopes people will “mirror it,” adding: “Always do good for humanity or animal life, and let’s take care of each other!”
