Young Man Who Went Broke To Fly Across America To Adopt A Dog Gets Surprise Help

When Joel Carpenter, 23, saw Sadie, a collie-husky mix on Petfinder.com, he knew he wanted to adopt her. He was so smitten with her, he hastily bought a ticket to fly and get her from the shelter in another state. Between jobs, he spent his $300 on a plane ticket to travel from Portland, ME to Minneapolis, MN to get to her. He spent his last $175 to adopt her. But there was just one problem. He only had money for the one way trip.

So Joel improvised on how to get home, starting off on foot and using Craigslist to find ride shares and places to sleep with Couchsurfing.com. He made sure to only travel a few hours a day so as to not tire out his new puppy.

In retrospect, he admits that maybe his plan could have been thought out a bit more, but he told Inside Edition, “I just had faith that it was going to work out.” Besides, he could not ignore the intense feeling that drove him to adopt the puppy, telling the Portland Press Herald, “It was a calling, for sure, man. She’s so beautiful.”

His dedication to his new dog so impressed the news Inside Edition team interviewing him, that they decided to make his return trip a little easier, as you’ll see at the 1:30 mark. It looks like Carpenter’s faith was not misplaced after all.

Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.