Over the past year, the stray dog had been living around Xuancheng Railway Station in eastern China’s Anhui province, earning the nickname “Stationmaster Huang” from her carers. Taxi drivers would feed her bread and sausages while waiting for passengers. Huang’s lively and gentle demeanor, as well as remarkable intuition toward people, soon won them over.

“She seemed to know exactly how to interact with people,” recalled He Wei, one of the taxi drivers. “Whenever a taxi driver pulled in, she never showed the wariness most stray dogs have toward strangers … Maybe, in her eyes, the taxi drivers were her family.”

When Huang needed to be spayed, the drivers even pooled their money to pay for the operation.

However, in April 2026, an accident changed everything. Huang was hit by a car and suffered multiple fractures in her legs. She was found lying helplessly in the grass, unable to move and barely able to eat.

The drivers took her to two animal hospitals, but after learning the surgery would cost more than 10,000 yuan ($1,470) — far beyond what they could afford — they called local stray animal rescuers, who go by Huaba and Qingtian online, for help.

By then, Huang’s injuries had become severely infected. “The drivers were extremely anxious, like ants on a hot pan,” Huaba says. “If the condition had continued to worsen, she likely would have developed sepsis and could not have been saved.”

When they arrived at the station, one driver gently lifted Huang from the grass and handed her over, while another gave them a crumpled sheet of paper. On it was a list of donations alongside taxi plate numbers. Huaba was stunned.

“I’ve never encountered a situation like this in all my years of animal rescue,” he said. “In most cases, the person who calls for help leaves as soon as we arrive. But here, everyone genuinely wanted to help the dog.”

The drivers’ more than 4,000 yuan in fundraising carried added weight coming from those in an industry already under strain. China now has over 7 million ride-hailing drivers, and average earnings have declined, with many cities warning of market saturation due to oversupply.

The remaining medical costs were later waived by the animal hospital after learning about Huang’s story.

When Huaba uploaded the rescue video to Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, it quickly went viral, gaining more than 370,000 likes and being reposted by state broadcaster CCTV.

The story also brought unexpected attention to Xuancheng, historically known as the hometown of China’s “Four Treasures of Study” — the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone used in traditional Chinese calligraphy. During the recent May Day holiday, standees using Huang’s image appeared at local tourist sites, and visitors even visited the animal hospital where she was staying in hopes of getting a glimpse.

He Wei made a batch of small figurines of “Stationmaster Huang,” which he gave to drivers and others who helped with the rescue, as a gesture of thanks for saving her life.

Huang’s operation was successful, and she is recovering well. According to Huaba, once her rehabilitation is complete, her running ability is expected to recover to about 80% of what it was.

However, the dog’s future remains uncertain. Despite interest from potential adopters, concerns persist that some may want to exploit the attention surrounding her.

“There were even cases of people trying to snatch the dog on site — pretending to be fans of ‘Stationmaster Huang’ and asking to take a look, only to go inside, take off their jackets, and try to carry her away,” Huaba said. “In today’s attention-driven internet era, you really see all kinds of people.”

For now, Huang remains under the care of veterinarians and Huaba, as discussions continue over her long-term placement.

“Personally, I hope ‘Stationmaster Huang’ can find a normal home and be adopted into a real family, where she can live the life she deserves — rather than being treated as a landmark dog put on display,” Huaba said.

“The truth is, the dog herself doesn’t understand any of this.”

(Left and middle: Stationmaster Huang injured and lying in the grass prior to her rescue. Right: A taxi driver holds the injured dog. From Douyin)