By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

SABATTUS – When Adam Stone and his girlfriend, Maggi Milligan, first saw Amber in the road, they thought she was a bag of trash.

The tan-and-white pit bull had been struck by at least one vehicle after she and her mother wandered onto the turnpike in Sabattus. Her mother was dead. Amber could barely stand.

“She was pretty messed up,” Stone said.

He and his girlfriend, who love animals, had a dog of their own at home in Hallowell. They didn’t want another one, but they couldn’t turn away. They bundled Amber into their SUV and sped off to find a vet.

In the back seat, Amber whined and passed in and out of consciousness. Her front leg hung limp. Her face was cut and bloody. But when she looked at Stone, who was beside her, she wagged her tail.

Using her cell phone, Milligan found a vet in Augusta. Unlike closer clinics, his office was open and had the equipment to handle an emergency.

When they arrived, Stone said that he wanted payment up front. They weren’t the dog’s legal owners and the vet feared they would leave him with an injured animal and large medical expenses.

Milligan immediately plunked down $350.

“Whatever you need,” she said.

At home, the couple made more calls: Sabattus Town Hall, local pet stores, the animal control officer. They didn’t want another dog. And besides, they thought someone had to be searching for her.

“She’s such a wicked friendly dog,” Stone said.

The Sabattus animal control officer called back with the answer. A local woman was looking for two pit bulls that had gotten out that morning.

She was upset. She loved the dogs. But after learning about the accident, she said she couldn’t care for the surviving animal or afford the dog’s mounting vet bills, Stone said. To prevent any legal problems, she officially signed over ownership to the couple.

She told them the dog’s name was Amber.

“We just said, We’ll fix her up, maybe keep her for a while and find her a good home,'” Stone said.

They went to Augusta and brought her back.

Amber had a punctured lung, a cut to her face and torn nerves in her front leg. Stone, who recently lost his job as a construction worker, stayed up with her for three days to watch her breathe.

After weeks of constant care, Amber slowly healed. And bonded to the family.

When she adopted their 8-year-old Great Dane as her new mother, the couple knew they couldn’t let her go.

“She’s doing good. She’s doing awesome. She can run faster than I can right now,” Stone said.

The ordeal cost the couple about $2,000. Rescue groups and individuals have donated enough to pay it all.

But even if donations hadn’t come in, even if they’d had to take out loans to pay for Amber’s care, the couple said she’s worth it.

Said Stone, “We’d do it again a hundred times.”