A loving dog stayed with his brother following a hit-and-run on an interstate in Florida.
Grover, the heroic canine, protected his brother Zorro from oncoming vehicles after he was hit by a car on Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade County.
Zorro was discovered on the side of the road at Exit 10, and Grover began using his body to make sure he would not be hurt more than he already was.
‘Whoever hit him did not stop, and then Grover, the brown one, just stayed by his side,’ Leslie Fernandez from Interstate Partners for Animal Welfare (IPAW) told WPLG Local 10.
Miami-Dade Animal Services picked up Zorro, but not before someone snapped a picture of Grover protecting his sibling.
The shelter later scheduled Zorro’s euthanization, but Hernandez was keen on making sure that wouldn’t happen.
‘The picture of them together on I-95 — the fact that one was hurt and the other one wouldn’t leave him, and like I said, he had a huge open space, the dog could have gone anywhere, and he wasn’t going to leave his friend, just brought tears to my eyes,’ Hernandez said.
‘I went to the shelter without a plan, I just had to take this dog out.’
The hit-and-run occurred on January 19, 2024, and Zorro suffered multiple severe injuries, including three broken legs.
‘When Zorro came in, he had a fractured right elbow, a dislocated left hip and a deranged right knee, so three out of four legs did not work. He couldn’t walk, he couldn’t stand, he couldn’t do anything,’ Dr. David Wise told WPLG Local 10.
Another driver picked up Grover, but IPAW managed to track him down and reunite them at the VCA Knowles Central Animal Hospital five days after the accident.
Zorro was not able to walk, but he crawled to Grover immediately after he saw him.
‘All he could do is lay on the floor and wag his tail – and I said, “Whoah, we are not putting this dog to sleep, I don’t care what happens,” ‘Wise said.
Following the rescue, IPAW worked to raise money for the many surgeries Zorro needed after the accident.
IPAW has provided updates about Zorro through its Instagram page since 2023 and announced his possible euthanization in January 2024.
However, Zorro managed to pull through and had his first surgery on his front leg and hip later that month.
‘Back knee is being treated with laser therapy and the swelling has gone down a lot, but swelling needs to go down a bit more for surgery,’ IPAW wrote in an Instagram post description at the time.
‘For now, he will rest with his brother close by. They can see each other in the area they are boarded – I truly believe this has helped him.’
Zorro underwent more than half a dozen surgeries, which, along with other medical expenses, cost over $15,000.
Wise revealed that he’s never heard of one dog protecting another in the 50 years he’s practiced and that it was ‘one of the most heartwarming stories’ he’d ever seen.
‘When you see the pictures of him not being able to move and where he is now walking, it’s just, it’s just a miracle,’ said Fernandez.
Wise added that he had tears in his eyes when he saw Zorro walk for the first time.
Grover and Zorro are both up for adoption, and IPAW has retold their story multiple times with the hope that someone will adopt them both.
‘Every option has fallen through for these dogs and I just, I have to believe, there has to be a home for them,’ Fernandez said.
‘It’s such a special story and they fought so much to be together, to be alive, I’m just praying that home is out there.’
IPAW revealed in a December 2024 Instagram post that it would consider putting them up for adoption separately if it means they would both find a good home.
The organization also mentioned an opportunity to send them to a boarding facility in Virginia to have a ‘land and a place to decompress.’
The nonprofit organization posted another Instagram photo of Grover and Zorro on January 13, revealed that ‘plans have changed.’