At first, they assumed the pooch belonged to someone in the neighbourhood and didn't worry about it.
The next day, however, they saw him again. He was miles from where they had seen him the day before, at the very bottom of a steep mountain.
They discover the truth
The couple thought the dog had escaped from his home, so they took him back to the area where they had originally seen him.
But no one came forward to claim the pooch.
So, Krystal and Zachary took him back to their Airbnb while they figured out what to do for the poor dog. He seemed completely exhausted.
They posted about the dog on local lost pet pages.
Several people messaged them to say that his previous family had abandoned him simply because he had chewed something in their house.
Krystal and Zachary were heartbroken to learn this. They decided to keep him and named him Bryson, after the town where they found him.
An unexpected addition to the family
While the couple were figuring out what to do with Bryson, Krystal noticed that Zachary was acting strangely.
What she didn't know was that Zachary had been planning to propose to her. He was worried that cancelling all their plans to rescue Bryson meant the proposal would have to be postponed.
In the end, Zachary changed his plans and proposed to his girlfriend during a hike with Bryson.
Bryson is in all of their engagement photos!
A few days after they left North Carolina, Hurricane Helene hit the area. They had rescued Bryson just in time.
When they returned home, they introduced the pooch to the rest of their family: their three children, a French Bulldog and a mini Goldendoodle.
Bryson is already much-loved and is fitting in perfectly with the whole family. What a wonderful rescue story!
