Sammy loved her dad more than anything. The 12-week-old Doberman mix had only just begun her life with him when he suddenly passed.

Luckily, two compassionate EMTs in Fort Worth, Texas, stepped up to help — and it changed all of their lives for the better.

“I noticed the puppy cuddled up next to the patient, so I picked her up,” Tegan Sliva, the EMT who responded to the call, told The Dodo. “The puppy was crying in my arms.”

Heartbroken and scared, Sammy didn’t want to leave the only family she’d ever known. Sliva and her EMT partner, Kirk, discovered that Sammy had nowhere to go, except a shelter, and they couldn’t let that be her fate, so they took her in.

“We took her to the ambulance while we were putting our equipment away,” Sliva said. “We cleaned her up with wet wipes because she was covered in dust, and we gave her water.”

Kirk’s girlfriend watched Sammy until he finished work. But by the end of the night, Sammy had found her new family.

You can watch Sammy’s rescue here:

In spite of the devastating loss Sammy felt that day, things quickly turned around.

“She is now Kirk’s dog and has a big sister named Kaley,” Sliva said. “She is very playful and loves to run with her. She is loving life.”

The memories of her dad will always be a part of Sammy’s life, but for now, she’s getting a second chance with new memories to be made