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Back in 2019, Vicky VanDevander made the news when she helped to rescue a dog on Interstate 275 in Tampa and the feat earned her the nickname the “doggy angel.” So it must have been meant to be when she rescued another dog earlier this month along that same heavily traveled stretch of Interstate. On Mother’s day, VanDevander heard the cries of a six-year-old Chihuahua terrier named Princess and rushed to save her before it was too late.
Unfortunately, VanDevander didn’t get there before Princess was hit by a car, but she quickly scooped the pup up and contacted the authorities and Princess was rushed to a nearby animal hospital emergency room. The vets patched up Princess and soon found out that her owner had been desperately searching for her baby. Loren Lamare was relieved to get the call that Princess had been found. "I was in tears," says Lamare. "It felt like a Mother's Day blessing to find my little girl."
VanDevander says she loves animals and is glad she was in the right place at the right time. "It's a great feeling being the doggy angel if you want to call me that," she says. "I don't know how these dogs just end up in my path." Well now there are at least two pet families out there who are glad she was there for them.