Teens save lost pit bull

Cold, alone and scared was how she was found in the road.

The 10-month-old pit bull ran across North Second West Street next to Centennial Park right in front of a carload of teenagers.

"We were just driving around because we had nothing else to do," Derrik Erickson said.

At first, the group thought they had hit the dog, but they didn't hear a yelp or feel a thump against the car. However, they still stopped the car to check on the dog. All six of the Green River teenagers, Taylor Thornton, Erickson, Mara Garrett, MaryAnn Wright, Hailey Dewitt and Jaykob Munic got out of the car to check on the dog.

The group approached the dog with caution, trying to decide if it was friendly or not. It turned out the dog was more than friendly. Erickson said they noticed the dog was limping and they figured the back left leg had been injured somehow.

The group also noticed the dog's paws were all scratched up and bleeding. Some of the nails were short and bloody.

Erickson said it was around 10:30 p.m. and it was sprinkling out.

"I think it was pretty cold out," Erickson said.

The dog was shivering so his friend went back to the car and got a spare sweatshirt to wrap the dog in. They then called the police. An officer showed up quickly and took the dog to the Green River Animal Shelter.

Meanwhile, the family of the dog, Porsha, Roger and IsaBelle Brauburger were continuing to search for Athena, their pit bull.

Porsha said they had lost Athena between Peru Hill and Green River.

They kept searching for two days, but didn't have any luck. They had called both Green River Animal Control and Sweetwater County Animal Control to see if either agency had picked up their dog.

Then, the family offered a $250 reward for the lost pet. Since, neither animal control agency had picked up the dog, Porsha was afraid someone kept her for their own.

"I was just crying because I knew someone had her," Porsha said. "She was a beautiful pit bull and we spent $600 to buy her."

When Porsha got a call from a Green River Animal Control officer that they had found the dog, her tears of sadness quickly turned into tears of joy.

The officer told her about how the kids had found the dog and took care of the dog until an officer arrived. Porsha informed the animal control officer of the reward and arrangements were made for them to meet.

"The kids didn't know about the reward," Porsha said. "They just did the right thing."

Erickson said he can still recall the looks of pure joy on the owners' faces when they were reunited with the dog.

"I didn't expect a reward or even want a reward," Erickson said.

However, the family insisted.

"Thank you for doing the right thing and having a caring heart," Porsha told the teenagers. "That's why I thought it was important we gave that reward."

"I'd encourage anybody to help an animal or a person if it looks like they need it," Erickson said.

He said he could really feel for how the family felt because just a few weeks earlier he had lost his dog. A friend of his found his dog and brought it back home to him, but until the dog was found he was sad.

Porsha learned a hard lesson and got all of her dogs' vaccinations up to date and she made sure all of them have a chip in them. This chip is placed directly under the animal's skin and an animal control officer can scan it to find out the owner's information.