The road trip of sisters Amanda and Nicole Lightle takes an unexpected turn when they come across a small, lonely dog in the middle of a country road.

The two women don’t hesitate and quickly pull over to pick up the shivering puppy. What happens next is something neither humans nor animals could have anticipated.

An unexpected encounter

This incident occurs on the route from Mississippi to Illinois, where Amanda and Nicole are from, as reported by The Dodo.

“I said to my sister, ‘I think we just passed a puppy. Should we turn around?’ And without hesitation, she said yes. Which was good because I was already in the process of turning around,”

Amanda tells the magazine.

However, when Nicole cautiously approaches the little dog, Honey, as they later name the honey-colored puppy, initially backs away.

With a mix of fear and curiosity, she is successfully lured with a bag of pretzels.

“But eventually, she came and took the pretzel, and I was able to pet her,”

Lightle reports.

“She was shaking, but she let me pet her. Luckily, we had some beach towels in the car, so my sister brought me one to pick her up. I took her and brought her to the car. She was so sweet from the start.”

The sisters are visibly excited and delighted by their unexpected discovery. A picture on “The Dodo” shows them proudly smiling with little Honey wrapped in a towel on their laps.

A new home for Honey

However, the journey home is still long: they have another nine and a half hours to spend together in the car.

Honey is dirty and skinny, so they stop along the way to bathe their new companion in a public park.

Given her condition, and the fact that Honey neither wears a collar nor is chipped, the sisters deduce that the puppy has been on her own for some time.

So Honey sleeps curled up on the back seat, her destination: her new forever home! Because Amanda and Nicole have no intention of ever letting the lovely Honey go!

Upon arrival in Illinois, the dog receives another bath, a tick treatment, and a massive dose of trust.

According to “The Dodo,” Honey is initially a bit nervous and needs time to adjust to her new loving environment.

“In the first week, she hardly left the bed I set up for her in a spare room. Only in the last two days has she come out and joined us in the living room,”

Lightle is thrilled about the progress.

“She curls up in a ball on the floor while we watch TV or do other things. She now officially follows me from room to room.”