Under a streetlight, in the wet grass, lay a German shepherd — thin, wounded, her dirty fur clinging to her body.

He knelt beside her and carefully reached out his hand. The dog trembled but didn’t growl — she just let out a quiet sob, as if begging for help.

“Hang in there, girl,” he whispered. “I’ll take you to a vet right now.”

At the veterinary clinic, while the doctors examined her, one of them frowned.