Our drive to Osorno Chile to pick up camera cards was brutal, but it allowed me to meet a very special travelling partner. They say some of the best friendships start at a bar, well this one started just outside the front door.

On a stop in El Bolson to rest before continuing on with the journey to Chile, Toti and I went to a local bar to drink a few beers. After sharing some cold brews and laughs, I walked outside to see a circle of people around a little white dog. They were staring at the little ball of fur while shaking their heads. When I got closer and saw the dog laying down I realized he wasn’t okay. I asked a big fella what had happened and he told me the little guy had been ran over trying to cross the road a few minutes prior.

I have no idea what came over me at that moment but staring deep into the filthy, street dog’s bright, caramel eyes, I bent down, scooped him up into my arms and walked off with him. It was pure instinct.

When I awoke the next morning, my new friend was sleeping next to my head. He didn’t walk, bark, cry, he didnt do anything. He simply laid there quietly. We took him to our friend Clara’s house and she called a friend and vet. Toti and I had to continue on to Chile, so Clara offered to keep him until we arrived.

Two days later, we picked up our new friend who now had a cast on his back left leg. The car had broken his leg in two places. I paid Clara for the vet bill and she told me we had to leave the cast on for 20 days.

On our drive back to Cholila, Toti and I began to think of a name for our smelly little dog. That’s when it hit us – Butch Cassidy! Since the horses were resting in a pasture right in front of Butch’s old hideout, it was the perfect name for this brave street dog.

“Butch Cassidy will live to see the end of the world,” I yelled out petting our new dog.