Filmmaker Rick Darge loves his rat terrier Maya more than anything in the world. The two do everything together, and they share an incredible bond.
When Maya went missing in early July 2018, Darge was devastated.
He looked everywhere for her, and he posted tons of signs around his neighborhood. For days, he didn’t hear anything. While he was anxious about getting his beloved dog back, he had this strange feeling she was safe.
“I knew shortly after Maya ran away that someone was temporarily holding onto her,” Darge wrote on Facebook. “I just had this crazy feeling that she wasn’t hiding out or dead but in the company of someone that temporarily needed her. Maya means magic and that’s what this dog is.”
On July 8, 2018, Darge got the call he’d been waiting for. A man named James had found Maya!
When Darge went to meet James, he learned the incredible story behind how James ended up with Maya. When Maya ran away from home, she didn’t go far—she ended up joining a group of homeless men near Darge’s office. The men thought Maya was a stray and they wanted to care for her. And so, they gave her to James.
James is a big dog lover, and sadly, he lost his own dog just a week before Maya arrived. James was excited to take care of Maya, but then, he lifted her harness and saw her tags. When he realized little Maya had an owner, James immediately knew he had to do whatever he could to reunite Maya and Darge.
“James called me,” Darge said. “He said that once he saw that she belonged to someone, he was devastated and knew what I was going through. I can’t explain what I’m feeling right now through words. All I must say is that my faith in people just got a whole lot better.”
Darge wanted to give James $200 to thank him for his help, but James wouldn’t accept the money at first—reuniting Darge and Maya was reward enough to him. Darge insisted that he take the money, and James started crying. He badly needed the money but he hadn’t wanted to make the rescue about that.
When Darge and Maya got home, Darge couldn’t stop thinking about James. And so, he decided to start a GoFundMe page to help James get back on his feet. Darge set a goal of $10,000, and he quickly raised that much and more! Everyone was touched by James’ story.
At the end of August, James and Darge had dinner together. While there, Darge told James how much money he had raised for him.
“James immediately collapsed into a puddle of joy and couldn’t speak for the next five minutes,” Darge wrote. “With tears in his eyes he told me, ‘Nobody has ever done anything like this for me EVER in my life. You hear about these things happening in the news but I never thought something like this would ever happen to me.’”
Darge has now set up a bank account for James, and he deposited the funds raised. James and his girlfriend are planning on using the money to buy a motor home, a place where they’ll finally be able to sleep in a real bed.
James is also planning on starting a Pedi-Cab business so he can show tourists around his hometown, Los Angeles. James also isn’t finished looking after animals—he’s currently caring for several dogs that have nowhere else to go!
James is an incredible, kindhearted man who did everything he could to reunite a dog and her beloved owner. What a heartwarming story!
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