Last Year, This Dog Was Found Abandoned After Being Hit by a Car. Now, She’s Recovered and Loves Being Cradled Like a Baby.

When we spoke to Autumn Fox in mid-June, she cradled a 35-pound, two-and-a-half-year-old black dog she then called Miracle, who slept peacefully in her arms. The dog’s face displayed a perfect, peaceful derpyness.

Fox was the fourth person to foster the dog, who now goes by Juno, and reported that her favorite thing was to be held like a baby. Soon, she would be heading to her new family.

“She is truly the sweetest dog ever,” Fox said of Juno. “The way she’s lying here now, snoring. She loves everyone, loves every dog.”

Seeing how happy she was in this moment, you’d never guess what Juno had gone through.

“She couldn’t move.”

In September of 2024, before Fatima Guevara’s organization The Cantu Foundation rescued Juno and set her on the path to a better life, she was found on the side of a road in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico—pregnant and abandoned after having been hit by a car. “She couldn’t move,” Guevara said of her condition at the time.

Medical examinations revealed that Juno, in addition to the car accident, had been shot with BB’s and had a Transmissible Venereal Tumor. The Cantu Foundation paid for her medical care, which included a front leg amputation, hip procedures, and chemotherapy.

“She loves running.”

Fostering has been a critical part of Juno’s recovery. The people who took Juno into their homes gave her safe places to regain her strength. She ate The Farmer’s Dog, regrew her coat, and—on three legs—started to get Zoomies again.

“Her coat transformation has been amazing, and she loves running,” said previous foster Sara Rodriguez. “You can’t even tell she had surgery.” Guevara reported that Juno was always excited to eat The Farmer’s Dog, standing at attention with one ear up at mealtime. 

“Just the one,” she said. “Just the one, always.”

“They complete each other.”

Fox reported that Juno was getting along well with her own dog, Roo, a “foster fail” from Cantu. Roo is also a tripod, but her missing front leg is on the other side. As a result, when the foster siblings stand next to each other, it creates a mirror-image effect.

“They’re like little twinsies,” she said. “It’s hilarious, walking them around together. I can’t leave the house without people making comments and being like, ‘What is going on here?’ Yeah, they complete each other.”

In some ways, Fox said, “Roo has taught [Juno] how to be a dog. Roo loves bones and loves toys. So [Juno] now loves chewing on her bones. She likes toys. She understands what the cheese tax is. Roo also taught her that. Anytime the cheese drawer opens, [Juno] and Roo are both sitting there, waiting to be given their piece.”

After her time with Fox, Juno stayed in the San Diego area to live with Angela Vargo in her forever home. “Her gentle demeanor towards humans is amazing,” Vargo told us, “especially after all the cruelty she has faced. You can tell that she is truly grateful for human companionship, and I feel the same towards her. She makes my days better.”

“We couldn’t do anything without fosters.”

Guevara emphasizes that, for all the importance of monetary donations, fosters are the key to helping dogs like Juno. “Autumn didn’t sleep” for weeks when first caring for Miracle, she said, offering an example of the sacrifices fosters make for dogs’ wellbeing. 

“There’s an emotional toll that fosters take on,” she said. “We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

For more information about The Cantu Foundation, visit their website.