The bond between humans and dogs has always been strong. A dog is a family member, and I can’t imagine something worse than getting your beloved dog stolen.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Brayden Morton from British Columbia. But the story took an unexpected turn and has now made headlines everywhere.
Brayden Morton was working from home when he suddenly heard a commotion outside of his window. When he went out to see what was going on, he saw that his beloved dog Darla, a 3-yeaar-old Shar-Pei, had been stolen from his yard.
The gate to the yard was open and all he could see was a truck that was speeding away.
Brayden was devastated. He had to do everything to get back his dog, so he decided to reach out on social media to see if he could get help.
“Please share and help me”
On June 18 he posted on Facebook.
“Please share and help me. A blue older model Ford truck just pulled up behind my house and took Darla. I am offering a $5000.00 reward for anyone who can either bring her back or tell me where she is.”
The post quickly went viral and got over 33,000 shares. A friend helped him to put up $2,500 of the $5,000 reward for the dog’s return, the other half was from Brayden’s pocket.
After posting on social media, Brayden Morton received a lot of phone calls saying they had information about his dog. But he still couldn’t find Darla, and at some point Morton even thought she was dead.
Like a miracle
Then one day a miracle happened: he received a call that changed everything.
All he could hear on the phone was a woman. She was crying and could barely speak.
“Tonight was one of the worst best nights I’ve ever had. At about 6 pm I was told that they thought they had found Darla but she wasn’t alive and my heart dropped like nothing I’ve ever imagined,” Morton wrote on Facebook.
“As I’m sitting in my vehicle waiting to find out I get a phone call from a blocked number. I answered and all I heard was what sounded to be like a young lady crying. I knew in my heart that this person had my dog or knew where she was.”
Morton’s feeling was right. The woman had Darla.
“She was hysterically apologizing and said she had grabbed Darla from where she was because she couldn’t live with herself for assisting in taking her. I ran home and grabbed the reward money and went to meet this lady,” Bayden wrote.
The woman had planned to steal Darla for drug money. But she is a real dog lover and couldn’t do it. She wanted to make a change, according to iheartdogs.
When Morton arrived at the meet-up point, he knew immediately that she was addicted to substance abuse. But instead of being mad at her he gave her a hug and said it was ok. He explained to her that he didn’t want to give her the money because he was worried he’d find her dead shortly after. The young woman agreed, admitting that she needed help, but was too scared to get it.
So, Morton decided that instead of giving her the money, he would offer to pay for the woman’s treatment. After some consideration, she accepted.
Got sober in 2015
Brayden Morton could really understand the situation the woman was having. He got sober in 2015 after he was stabbed six times, had a machete stuck in his head, and was shot in the leg.
“In that moment, for some reason, it wasn’t the multiple trips to treatment before that, everything really became clear in that moment that I was a drug addict and I needed help and I needed to accept help,” he told the Cranbook Townsman.
Nowadays he owns the company Find the Right Rehab, that helps people do just that.
Wants to inspire others
It’s reported that the woman hasn’t yet checked into a facility. She and Brayden have plans to discuss it over a coffee.
Morton now hopes his story with Darla can inspire others do help. He is hoping people will share this story, just like they did when they shared the initial story about Darla being stolen.
”I hope this gets shared as many times as what all you great people shared to find her. Hopefully it sends the message as people we need to be there for each other and our experience sometimes isn’t for us it’s for someone else and don’t always write someone off there are a lot of good people who are addicted to drugs sometimes they just need someone to talk to and to go for help”, Morton writes on his Facebook posts and continues:
“I am so grateful for the people who didn’t give up on me and I’m grateful for the ones who did. Thank all you guys so much you have no idea what this means to me.”
No wonder this story became viral. Brayden Morton really has a heart of gold and is a true inspiration for all, reminding us that everyone can make mistakes and that we all have to help others when they need it. Please share this with your friends and family.
