This dog is not where she should be.
When a hurricane hit Louisiana,
she got caught in the storm and became trapped on a marshy island.
Now she was stranded all alone with nothing to eat.
Luckily, people spotted her and alerted
a local dog rescuer
named Aja.
Aja assembled her team of fellow rescuers to help this puppy in peril.
They knew the only way to save a dog trapped on an island
was with a boat!
They fired up the motor and made their way across the water.
But finding this dog wasn't going to be easy.
The island was awfully big, and it had been a while since anyone had
seen the dog.
After a boat ride and a trek through the island's muddy terrain,
they finally spotted her,
and she spotted them!
And immediately ran away.
Aja knew that this poor dog had been through a lot.
She was probably feeling really scared.
The rescue team tried their best to get close to her,
but she kept running away further into the island.
So they came up with a plan:
They put dog food inside of a special crate.
When the dog walked in to get the food,
the door would shut behind her.
Then the rescue crew could whisk her away to safety.
But would their plan work?
They went back to their boat and watched the island.
They decided to wait 20 minutes,
and if they didn't see her, it meant the crate had worked.
But 20 minutes later, they saw her again.
She'd outsmarted their trap!
Aja needed a new plan,
and she had to act fast.
Pretty soon it would be dark, which would make it really hard to find the dog.
They might lose her forever!
So Aja decided to be bold.
She marched into the woods on her own with just a bag of dog food.
She hoped the food would let the dog know she was here to help.
And then maybe she could bring this pup to safety.
At first, the dog was still feeling scared
and ran away.
But Aja refused to give up.
She followed the dog as slowly as she could,
and finally,
after what seemed like hours,
it happened!
The dog ate food right out of Aja's hand.
She had decided to trust Aja.
But this rescue wasn't over yet.
With the sun setting and time running out, Aja had to act fast.
She needed to grab the dog and bring her back to the boat.
It was now or never, and if she failed,
she might scare the dog away for good.
As quick as she could...
she did it!
With the help of her rescue team,
Aja got her leashed and ready for the ride
back to the mainland.
As soon as they were settled,
Aja could tell the dog was feeling calm.
It was like she knew she was in safe hands.
"Well, we got —"
"We got little Marsha here!"
And she got a brand-new name:
Marsha!
The perfect name for a pup found on a marsh.
Finally, the crew made it safely back to dry land,
where Aja and her team got Marsha ready
for their trip to the shelter.
"Hi, sweetie."
"Hi, sweetie! Giving kisses?"
Marsha was so grateful to her rescuers!
And the rescuers loved her.
She started to feel like herself again.
And after a nice, long stay,
Marsha was ready to move out of the shelter and into her new foster home,
where she had a whole crew of furry friends to play with.
This blue-eyed pup couldn't be happier.
All because Marsha made the choice to trust Aja and her rescue team.
And the team never gave up.