Chelsee Lopez arrived home from work at 1 a.m. one night when she saw a big black dog running alongside her car. She’d never seen the dog before and was worried she might be aggressive, but as soon as she got out of the car, she realized what a sweetheart the lost dog was.

“I noticed that she didn’t have a collar but her fur on her neck looked like there used to be one there,” Lopez told The Dodo. “I could tell she was a family dog, so I assumed she just got out of someone’s yard or something.”

Not giving it much more thought, Lopez left some food and water for the dog out on the porch, and then went inside to go to bed. She figured the dog would eventually head home – but she was wrong.

The poor dog, later named Maggie, cried the entire night, and never once left the porch. Lopez played with her a little before she had to go to class, and when she returned home later that evening, Maggie was still there.

“I just kept thinking that someone would be looking for her, or she would go home,” Lopez said.

After taking a few pictures of Maggie, Lopez began walking around the neighborhood, hoping someone would recognize her. Maggie followed her the entire time, desperately wanting attention and love.

Lopez and her husband took Maggie in that night, and the next day, an animal control officer brought her to the local animal shelter with the hopes of locating her family. Even after she was gone, though, the couple still worried about the sweet senior dog.

“My husband and I fell in love with her and wanted to make sure she was alright,” Lopez said. “So we would visit as much as we could, and on days we couldn’t visit her, we called up there to see if her family claimed her. We wanted it to work out for her so bad.”

After a week had passed without anyone stepping up to claim her, Maggie went up for adoption – but didn’t stay that way for long.

“We showed up as soon as the shelter opened to take her home,” Lopez said.

Maggie may not have found her previous family, but she gained an incredible new one instead.

The couple already had a dog at home named Charlie, who was scared of everything and had severe separation anxiety, and they worried about how he would react to his new sister Maggie. Almost immediately, though, Maggie worked her way into Charlie’s heart, too.

“When we brought her home, they fell in love with each other,” Lopez said. “He no longer barks when we leave the house, as long as Maggie is there. She is the glue to the family.”

Five months later, the couple also adopted Moko, a scared little dog who began to come out of his shell as soon as he met Maggie. Maggie makes everyone around her feel safe, and takes care of her new family just as much as they take care of her.

A few months ago, Maggie started losing weight drastically and became sluggish and much less playful. Her parents took her to the vet, who diagnosed the senior dog with diabetes.

“My husband and I knew that a side effect of diabetes was possible loss of sight,” Lopez said. “So, when we found out, we made sure to get all of the activities that Maggie loves in while she could see. We went camping, swam in the lake and took a road trip.”

Maggie has since lost a lot of her sight, but she’s still the happiest dog ever, thanks to her loving parents and siblings. She’s adjusted well to being blind and still loves to play and spend time with her family.

She may be old, but Maggie has so much life left in her.

“She was meant for us,” Lopez said.