It was a ruff start to a beautiful friendship.
A Brazilian woman received quite a shock when she discovered a puppy lurking within the lining of a piece of second-hand furniture.
Soraya Gomes Garcia said that she was in Joinville, Brazil when she found the seven-month-old puppy at the bottom of the couch, according to Jam Press.
Remarkably, Garcia said the puppy was alive, just very hungry and thirsty.
”He was very hungry and thirsty, indeed he was about to die,” said Garcia. “It’s not possible that (the dog) slipped into the sofa by himself: my brother-in-law had to rip the bottom to get him out, poor thing.”
Garcia revealed that she took in the lost pup with open arms and named him Mel, after her first dog who passed away two years ago.
A local animal rights group — Action Front for Animal Rights — speculated that animal cruelty was involved.
“A person bought a used couch and the puppy came as a gift inside the couch, unbelievable, but that’s exactly what happened, human beings are becoming more and more bold and cruel,” the charity said.
Several followers on Garcia’s Instagram praised the woman for her selfless act.
“How can humans be so cruel,” wrote one commenter. “Thankfully there are good people like this Deud put in the path of this little angel, so beautiful.”
“Too beautiful. God is Faithful, he takes good care of the pets,” echoed another. Added a third, “Congrats to the new owners and punishment to the old. How lucky that little pet was,”