Poodle Refuses to Leave Her Best Friend, an Injured Rottweiler

They're unlikely friends, but when a 90 lbs. Rottweiler became stranded in the middle of a dark Ohio road, her tiny best friend, a 9 lbs. poodle, refused to leave her side.

Veterinary assistant Jody Wetzig was working Monday night at the Lorain County Animal Emergency Center when she received a phone call from a woman who had spotted two dogs sitting in the middle of the dark, two-lane road. One was a Rottweiler whose leg appeared to be injured. The other was a small, black poodle who was sitting right next to her bigger friend. The woman didn't know what to do.

"Normally, we don't take in strays," Wetzig explains to Paw Nation. "But if they're injured, we'll try to help, so we told the lady to bring the Rottweiler in."

When the woman arrived with the dogs, she had a touching story to tell. "The woman said that the poodle would not leave the Rottweiler's side," Wetzig recounts. The little dog stayed close as the woman and a passerby eased the Rottweiler onto a blanket. When they loaded the dog into the car, the poodle jumped in too.


"Their story just really captured our hearts," says Wetzig. The dogs, both female, weren't wearing collars and hadn't been microchipped. "They looked like they came from the same [home]," says Wetzig. "There was a spot around their necks where it looked like they had been wearing collars." The dogs, while not malnourished, weren't in the best condition. "The poodle's fur was matted and she had skin issues."

The Rottweiler's issues were more grave. X-rays revealed a bone tumor on her right rear leg that's most likely cancerous. "Her entire leg is swollen to three times its normal size," says Wetzig. "We're going to need to amputate it." The surgery will cost between $1,500 and $2,500.

The local ABC News station reported the story, hoping the dogs' owners would come forward. Thus far, no one has, though many people have called to donate money and to offer to adopt the pair. "It's been amazing," says Wetzig. "The phone's just been ringing off the hook."

In the meantime, the Rottweiler, estimated to be about 7 years old, is getting by at the animal hospital, as long as she has her poodle friend by her side. "They were extremely nervous and shaking when they came in Monday night," says Wetzig. "But it's been a few days and they both get up and greet me when I come in now. They're inseparable, like sisters. We hope to adopt them together."

Tags: dogs refuse to leave eachother, DogsRefuseToLeaveEachother, poodle, poodles, rottweiler, rottweilers, stray dogs, StrayDogs