One morning in the summer of 2016, Malissa Sergent Lewis found herself running late for her job at an elementary school in Kentucky. Trying to make up time, she decided to take a different route, opting for a back road rather than the usual highway. What she didn’t know at the time was that this small change in her routine would lead to an unforgettable discovery.

As she drove along the quieter road, something caught her eye—a black trash bag lying on the roadside. At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary bag of garbage, but something about it was off. As she got closer, she realized the bag was moving.

“Did I just see that garbage bag move?” she recalled asking herself. Intrigued and concerned, Malissa stopped her car to take a closer look. She carefully approached the bag, unsure of what might be inside. The bag was tightly tied, making it clear that whatever was in there hadn’t ended up by chance.

With caution, she tore open a corner of the bag to peek inside, and what she saw shocked her—a puppy. Not only was the puppy alive, but it was also ecstatic to see her. “As soon as I opened the bag, he started wagging his tail. It was unbelievable,” Malissa told The Dodo.

The puppy had been cruelly stuffed into a trash bag and left on the side of the road. There was no telling how long he had been there, but any amount of time would have been too long. The puppy was wearing a collar but had no ID tags. Without a second thought, Malissa took the puppy with her to work, unable to leave him behind.

Later, Malissa’s son picked up the puppy and brought him home. They immediately took him to the vet for a thorough check-up and vaccinations. Despite their efforts to find the puppy’s original owner, no one came forward. Animal control wasn’t able to help either, as the dog wasn’t reported missing.

Ultimately, Malissa and her family decided to adopt the puppy themselves. The puppy, who had narrowly escaped a grim fate, was now in the loving care of a family who would cherish him.

Reflecting on the incident, Malissa expressed her disbelief at the cruelty of whoever had left the dog in such a state. “Who could do something so heartless?” she wondered. “Anyone who could put an animal in a garbage bag and dump it on the road is truly coldhearted.”

Sometimes, life takes unexpected turns, and for Malissa, her decision to take a different route that day turned into a moment of serendipity—one that saved a life.