At first, Meeks thought a coyote must be to blame for the noise: “We have a ton of coyotes here and they’re not afraid to come into your yard and pass your house,” Meeks told The Dodo.

But when he grabbed a flashlight and crept closer, he realized that the bark actually belonged to a small black Lab — shivering and alone.

Meeks assumed that the puppy was a runaway — a rare occurrence in such a rural area. “You could tell he was frightened and had no idea what was going on,” Meeks said. “He wouldn’t come to my mom, but I was able to gain his trust enough for him to come out from under the car. I snapped a few photos of him so I could post them online.”

Meeks stayed outside for two hours, trying to coax the puppy into the nearby barn or garage, but the dog refused to move. With so many coyotes around, Meeks worried that the pup might not make it through the night.

When another hour passed and the puppy still wouldn’t budge, he put out some food and water and stayed up watching the dog from the window to make sure he was safe.

The next morning, before leaving for work, Meeks finally found a way to lure the dog into his heated garage. “I whistled and he came right out and up to me,” Meeks said. “[It] was a big moment because I knew he would be safe until I found his owners — if they existed.”

Meeks brought the dog to the vet, where a scan for a microchip came back negative. With no way to trace the dog’s owners, Meeks knew what he had to do: adopt him.

“There’s no way we’re taking him to a shelter after all he’s been through,” Meeks said. “I refuse to let him be more scared and worried about what’s happening to him. He will become a part of our family.”