This morning at 7:30 AM, I was driving east on the 105 between the 405 and the 110, on my way to work. Everything was normal.

Then I saw him.

A German shepherd on the shoulder of the freeway, right under an overpass. He was shaking. His tongue was hanging out. His eyes were huge and terrified. Morning traffic was whipping past him at full speed, and he was just... there. Alone.

I don't usually work with big dogs. I'm five feet tall. But something about this dog made me pull over on a freeway in fast-moving traffic, get out of my car, and walk toward him.

He was scared. I was scared. Cars were flying by us in the noise and wind of that underpass, and I just sat with him. I talked to him. I held out my hand. He sniffed it. Then he licked it — gently, like he was asking me something.

I think he was asking me to help him.

We did that for a while — me holding out my hand, him deciding if I was safe. Then I remembered I might have a leash in my trunk. I walked back to my car, got it, and came back. He was still right there, waiting.

It took about thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of earning his trust, getting the leash around his neck, and coaxing him into my car. Looking back, I think getting into the car was painful for him. I didn't realize yet how badly he was hurt.

He bled all over my car. He bled all over me. I had to go home and clean up before I could go to work.

Here's what we know about his injuries so far: his bottom teeth are smashed out. He has cuts on his face, his legs, and his ears. On his rump, the skin is peeled back — you can lift the fur and see underneath. Officer Diaz from Hawthorne Animal Control, who was absolutely amazing and helped me get him to safety, believes he was hit by a car. He was wearing a blue collar. No tags. No microchip. Nobody was looking for him.

They named him Benny at the El Segundo Animal Hospital, where he's being treated right now.

Benny is such a good boy. After everything he went through — the pain, the fear, the noise, the traffic — he trusted a stranger. He licked my hand and let me help him. That moment broke something open in me. Here was this big, hurt, scared dog, looking at me and deciding that I was safe. That I was his person, at least for right now.

Here's why I need your help right now:

Benny is running out of time. The City of Hawthorne has some funding to help injured animals, and I'm grateful for that. But that funding has a hard limit. If we can't cover the rest of Benny's medical costs, they will euthanize him. This dog survived being hit by a car on a freeway. He survived the pain, the fear, the hours alone on that shoulder. This sweet boy chose to trust a stranger. And none of that will matter if we can't raise this money.

I will not let him die on a table after everything he survived on that road.

I've spoken with El Segundo Animal Hospital. Benny's medical care will cost $4,000. That is the number. That is what stands between Benny and a second chance at life. Every dollar matters and every day counts — Benny is hurt and he needs treatment now.

Once Benny is healed, he will go to The Lovejoy Foundation — a 501(c)(3) no-kill animal rescue in Inglewood, CA that partners with the City of Hawthorne to care for homeless and lost animals. They have saved over 16,000 animals and found forever homes for more than 14,000 dogs. Benny will be in incredible hands, and he will find his family.

Any funds raised beyond Benny's medical costs will be donated directly to The Lovejoy Foundation, so they can keep saving dogs just like him.

Dog rescue is not glamorous. There are no camera crews. It's pulling over on a freeway at 7:30 in the morning and sitting in traffic noise with a terrified dog until he trusts you. It's driving to work with blood on your clothes. It's calling animal control and hoping someone picks up. It's praying that good people will show up to help cover what the system can't.

I did my part this morning. Now I need you to do yours.

Please share this even if you can't donate. Benny doesn't have time to wait.

Don't worry, Benny. We got you.

*Updates will be posted here as we learn more about Benny's condition and treatment plan.