Loyal Dog Stays By His Friend's Side Through a Gunshot Wound and January Blizzard

One loyal dog stood by his injured friend's side during January's blizzard in New Jersey, a development manager for the Liberty Humane Society told ABC News on Friday.

According to ABC News, David Ramirez from the Liberty Humane Society said that the stray dogs, one brown, one black, were first reported to be wandering together throughout Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, a few days before Winter Storm Jonas ravaged the East Coast in late January. Animal control officers were dispatched to the park to collect them, but during their attempts to do so, the black dog was shot in the neck after he lunged at one of the officers.

Ramirez postulated that the dog most likely attacked the officer because he was feeling threatened, and the officer allegedly fired at the stray dog in self-defense and to protect passersby in the park, the report noted.

Immediately following the shooting, the two canine friends escaped -- just days before the snowstorm struck the area. During their time on the loose, the brown dog never left his friend's side. The two were later found captured together in one of the traps that the animal control officers had set up for them.

"I absolutely believe the two truly needed each other to survive at the time," Ramirez told ABC News. "With one having been hurt and bleeding and then with the blizzard coming down, there was definitely a time crunch to capture them and get them to medical care."

The black dog, who was named Braveheart, was taken immediately to a veterinarian for surgery, and although the bullet had swept through his neck, no vital organs were damaged. While the veterinarian was caring for the wounded dog, his friend, named Faithful, was in distress.

"While Braveheart was away, we had a miserable Faithful on our hands," Ramirez told ABC News, adding that the two dogs are believed to be litter mates. "He was crying relentlessly for Braveheart, and it was immediately obvious how bonded together they were."

Braveheart has made an excellent recovery, and the two pups are now available for adoption. Ramirez hopes that they will be adopted together.

"It's really hard to imagine them without each other at this point, especially after all they have been through," Ramirez said.

(H/T: ABC News)

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