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Should Cyclists Save Animals?

By Christopher Ashley

Cycling lets you see more of the world than if you were walking but at faster speeds, it’s all too easy to breeze by little details on the side of the road – or hidden in the wild. Please be warned because you’ll see some heart-breaking moments – but every one of these stories has a happy ending.

Found cat, will travel

Cycling around the world would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of us. For former welder, Dean Nicholson, the experience was made better when he rescued a skinny stray cat he named Nala.

Dean lucked out with Nala and soon after the story of the cat who fell in love with a cyclist went viral earlier this year. I can’t help but look at the cat in my garden right now and think it would be horrified if I tried to get it on my bike. Dean and Nala were clearly meant to be.

Irresistible kitteh

Dean wasn’t the first cyclist to find a feline companionship on the road. In 2017, Viitor Fonseca noticed an orphaned kitten on the side of the road he was cycling so he tucked her into his jersey. Not only did the kitten not mind – it seemed to take an instant like to Fonseca and gave him lots of kisses.

When it comes to the question of whether cyclists should rescue animals, you need only look at Viitor’s face. Typical cyclist, he loves a ride even more when he gets to share it with someone. Even if that someone isn’t of the same species.

Isolated pup

If you’re going off-road, you may end up somewhere people weren’t expecting you to be and far off the beaten track in Sierra de Pias, northern Portugal, a group of mountain bikers discovered an emaciated dog. Now, I warned you there’d be some heart-breaking footage and here it is.

In case you’re wondering what happened after the video, here it is. The dog took some more food and ran off but the cyclists returned the next day to find the dog had also decided it was in her best interest to do so. The dog was taken in by the local fire department and adopted to a kind-hearted individual who preferred not to be named.

Dog saves cyclist

Us cyclists do our best to avoid accidents but we, occasionally, like to push the envelope. A lot of us like going on long rides or getting out into the wild – and I’m sure we’ve all meditated on the possibility that we may have a mishap in the middle-of-nowhere. And that’s exactly what happened to a 40-year-old cyclist from Romania.

When he was discovered, the cyclist had a broken shoulder and mild hypothermia. If it wasn’t for a dog who’d emerged from the woods and spent the night huddled over him, the cyclist may not be here today.

First responders patched up the cyclist and secured his Bianchi and named the pup Saviour. Within a few days, a family had adopted the stray to offer him a comfortable retirement. After all, Saviour had spent most of his life watching over the mountains for stray cyclists. I guess that’s what you call Karma – these things move in cycles.