Last Christmas, in Rubidoux, California, David Loop had a startling encounter while driving on a freeway. Spotting a mysterious black mass near an exit ramp, Loop, the founder of Sierra Pacific Furbabies, immediately feared it might be an animal in distress. Slamming on the brakes, his concerns were confirmed when he discovered a motionless dog, apparently hit by a car.
In an Instagram Reel, Loop described his initial fear that the dog was deceased, only to be surprised when it took a breath. The injured black Lab mix, later named Shiloh, growled defensively as Loop approached. Despite Shiloh’s injuries and fear, Loop refused to give up on him, calling his rescue team for backup.
Upon arrival, Loop’s team carefully transferred Shiloh to a bed of blankets in the back of his truck. During the journey to the emergency vet, Shiloh calmed down, and Loop cuddled him. At the vet clinic, Shiloh made new friends, and a checkup revealed no broken bones, but he still couldn’t move his back legs due to head trauma and complete paralysis.
Despite a grim prognosis, Shiloh had a dedicated vet team working around the clock. Within five days, he started responding to pain in his back legs and attempted to stand. While the road to recovery was long, Shiloh’s resilience allowed him to continue healing at Loop’s house.
After a week, Loop brought Shiloh home, where a loving family of humans and pets awaited him. Uncertain if he would ever walk again, they hand-fed Shiloh to help him regain strength. Various treatments, from water therapy to laser sessions, were administered, but the most significant impact on his improvement seemed to come from the love he received from Loop’s family.
With each passing day, the family celebrated small victories, from Shiloh wagging his tail to attempting to sit up on his own. Loop shared Shiloh’s incredible journey on Instagram, describing him as a “miracle baby” with a strong will to live. Eventually, Shiloh regained the ability to walk, run, and play with other dogs in the community.
A month after the rescue, Shiloh found a new forever home with an adoptive mom, surrounded by toys and a doggy sibling. Loop, inspired by Shiloh’s story, continued his animal rescue efforts, including another black Lab mix named Nueva, hit by a car.
Loop acknowledged the challenges of his work but expressed that witnessing dogs like Shiloh find their happily-ever-after serves as motivation to persist. In an Instagram post, he referred to Shiloh as their “Christmas miracle.”