Paola, Kansas - A woman's journey through Georgia took an unexpected turn when she discovered a neglected dog dragging herself around a gas station.

Bailey still remembers the January day she came across the half-paralyzed dog whom she now calls Beanie.

The poor dog was dragging herself around the gas station, bleeding. Nobody stopped for the dog.

"I knew what I had to do," Baliey told The Dodo.

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The tattoo artist got out of the car and helped the stray, and she says the dog immediately trusted her.

"She was just in horrible shape," Bailey said.

Care at the local emergency clinic was too expensive, so Bailey took the dog back home to Kansas.

"That whole weekend was spent driving, bandaging her wounds," Bailey said, adding that it was clear to her that the dog was a fighter.

The rescuer was then given devastating news at the veterinary clinic in Kansas: the operation recommended for cases like Beanie's would probably kill her.

"During her pre-op tests, they discovered the neglect was much worse than anyone could imagine and that she had been paralyzed for over a month," Bailey explained on her GoFundMe donation page.

"She could not have the surgery due to her spinal injury calcifying over. If she did, it would kill her or paralyze her entire body, including her front legs."

The vets advised that Bailey euthanize the dog, but she refused and took Beanie home to heal.

Two months later, the dog surprised not only her new owner, but also the medical team: she managed to stand on her hind legs!

Now, Beanie can even get around with the help of a wheelchair.

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"She's stronger than anybody expected," her owner said.

The dog will need intensive care for the rest of her life, but Bailey is ready to take on the challenge – she's done it before with her late two-legged dog named Lucy.

Bailey says it was the memory of her old dog that prompted her actions: "I truly felt like Lucy had put me right there in that parking lot."