It was a rainy day outside when a young teenager named Ubaldo Apolinar, from Selma, California, heard scratching on his front door. 

When he went to investigate, he found a small puppy sheltering from the rain on his porch. With a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to ensure the safety of the lost puppy, he tried to get it inside, but his parents wouldn’t allow it. 

However, that didn’t stop this compassionate young man from taking care of the poor puppy.  

Shivering In The Rain 

Seeing this poor puppy shivering in the rain, Ubaldo immediately went to get some of his own dog’s food to give it to her. 

“At first, she backed away a little bit, but I kept getting closer to her, and once I pet her, she basically trusted me,” Ubaldo told The Dodo. 

He had no idea where this little dog came from, but as a dog owner himself, he wanted nothing more than to help her. 

She still had a pink collar around her neck, so he assumed that she was lost and that her owners were looking for her. 

He joined various community groups on Facebook and posted about the lost puppy, hoping that the owner would see it. 

While he waited for someone to contact him, he made sure that the puppy was well-fed and cleaned. 

He even asked his parents if the puppy could stay there, but his parents said she couldn’t. They already had a dog named Rocky and the landlord only allowed them to have one pet. 

“My sister and I hung out with her out on the porch in the afternoon, and then we played with her […] I was worried about her being outside in the cold at night, so I made a little house for her out of an old cardboard box. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her at night, so I just snuck her in while my parents were asleep,” Ubaldo said. 

He quickly took her to the bathroom where he played with her and tried to keep her quiet. He even made her a makeshift sweater out of an old sock. 

“I was getting attached to her. I wish I could have kept her, but I knew the right thing to do was to take her back to her owners,” Ubaldo said. 

Finding Her Way Home 

Eventually, he got caught by his parents, but it all didn’t matter because the very next day, Ubaldo got a message from the potential owner. 

“I got a potential owner request and after light social media stalking and passing by her house, her story checked out,” Ubaldo said. 

The potential owner lived in Selma, CA, as well… not too far from Ubaldo’s house. 

They made plans to meet the same day, so he could return the dog to them. 

“Right before I returned her, I played with her one last time in the yard with the tennis ball she liked to play with, and I enjoyed the time with her. She was very fun to hung out with. She was very spunky and adorable,” Ubaldo said. 

Eventually, it was time to return the dog to his home. The owner’s daughter came out and told him the dog’s name was Bubba. 

After all the trouble, Bubba was finally home where she belonged. 

Luckily, Bubba doesn’t live far away, and her new friend, Ubaldo, can visit her any time!

Watch Bubba’s journey from being lost to finding her way home: