It was days before Hurricane Helene hit the area.
Krystal Capone and Zachary Hughes were on vacation in Bryson City, North Carolina, when they saw a dog sitting on the side of the road. At first, they assumed he belonged to someone in the neighborhood.
But the next day, they saw him again — miles away from where they’d seen him the day before, all the way down a steep mountain.
Thinking he’d somehow escaped from his home, they brought him back to the area they’d originally seen him in. But no one claimed him as their own. So they took him back to their Airbnb and tried to figure out what to do.
“He just seemed exhausted,” Capone told The Dodo. “I loved him instantly.”
They posted him on local lost dog pages, and several people messaged them saying his previous family had abandoned him just because he chewed something up in their house.
Heartbroken by how someone could abandon such a sweet dog, they decided to keep him and named him Bryson after the city he’s from.
“He was definitely nervous at first, but he’s just such a good dog,” Capone said. “He was just so happy to be with us.”
While Capone and Hughes were figuring out what to do about Bryson, Hughes was acting uncharacteristically skittish. What Capone didn’t know was that Hughes had been planning on proposing to her the next day. So as they were canceling all their plans to take care of Bryson, Hughes was worried his proposal would be affected.
But Hughes quickly pivoted his plans and ended up proposing to Capone on a hike with Bryson.
“We went on this waterfall [hike], and that’s where Zach proposed,” Capone said. “Bryson is in all of our engagement pictures.”
The couple ended up canceling their flight home so they could drive Bryson back with them. A few days after they left North Carolina, Hurricane Helene hit the area. They rescued him just in time.
“What would he have done if he was just stranded?” Capone said.
Capone said her experience rescuing Bryson reminded her of the importance of adopting dogs.
“I encourage people to think of other options rather than purchasing dogs,” she said.
When they got home, they introduced Bryson to the rest of their family, which includes three kids, a French bulldog and a mini goldendoodle. The kids were shocked — they had no idea Capone and Hughes were coming home with a dog.
“[The kids] all ran to him, and I was like, ‘This is Bryson. He’s ours,’” Capone said. “And they were like, ‘What?’”
Bryson is already beloved and fitting in with the whole family. After all, he got to be there for an extremely joyful occasion.
