Southwest Flight Attendant Escorts Texas Puppy 2,000 Miles to His Forever Home in North Carolina

After an epic 2,000-mile journey, a puppy found on the side of the road in Texas is now at his new home in North Carolina.

The pup's story began earlier this summer when a woman's car broke down in El Paso in triple-digit heat. When she got out of her car, she heard two puppies crying on the side of the road.

"It was like 103 that day, and so she picked them up and called us and said, 'You know I just found these puppies, would you be willing to take them?' and I said 'Absolutely, bring them,'" Loretta Hyde with the Animal Rescue League of El Paso recalled to KTSM.

Animal Rescue League of El Paso shared photos of the puppies on their Facebook page, where a North Carolina couple saw them and fell in love. They had to have the little boy pup and they named Harris.

So, how do you get a puppy from El Paso to Raleigh in the middle of a pandemic?

Fortunately, word of Harris' story got to a Vegas-based Southwest flight attendant, Marcel Stratten who knew just what to do.

"It was Marcel who said, 'I happen to have two days off, I'll fly to El Paso pick up the boy,'" Hyde explained. "She's a flight attendant and she used her flying privileges to get him on Southwest and get him all the way to North Carolina."

As news of Harris' journey to his forever home spread, people lined up to help. One of Stratten's co-workers paid for her ticket from El Paso to Raleigh. The Windham hotel in El Paso even comped their room.

"Everyone needed to see a little kindness and this puppy brought so much love. The two pilots I had, they took him for a walk in the airport and all the passengers on the plane were just wanting to see him," Stratten told KTSM.

All told, she and Harris made three plane changes before finally arriving in North Carolina.

"All for one little El Paso puppy who was left on the side of the road in a box," said Hyde.